Wood-strewn Worthing is enjoying a tourism boom as thousands of sightseers flock to the town.

People from as far as London have travelled to witness the sight of thousands of tonnes of timber that has washed ashore.

Thousands more people than is usual for the time of year flocked to the town on Sunday, with Montague Street, the main pedestrian precinct, particularly busy.

Karl Gerlei, the owner of the Lido café on the promenade, said winter business had never been so good.

Trade was up 100 per cent on a normal January weekend, with people ordering food and drinks to get a ringside seat for the massive clear-up operation.

Mr Gerlei, who has been running the café for four years, opened up two hours early on Sunday morning and worked into the evening. He usually closes on Mondays but yesterday took down the shutters first thing.

He said: "I was thinking of giving away a free plank with every breakfast. You have got to make the most of it."

As he spoke, the Lido shuddered as waves topped with floating timber slammed into the structure.

The walkway around the Lido was still shut but the pier had reopened.

Beaches in West Sussex, from Ferring to Shoreham, have been closed as contractors hired by the firm that owns the timber use heavy machinery to clear it for collection.

High tide About 25 labourers were working in Brighton and Hove, where the beaches remained open for most of the day.

Last night, officials closed the undercliff walk between the marina and Saltdean, as more planks came in on the high tide.

Damien Adams, head of emergency management for West Sussex County Council, said he was concerned about the number of people going on the beaches to retrieve wood or watch the spectacle.

He said: "There are now very large excavators on many of the beaches, which pose a real danger to sightseers.

"We have had to close the beaches for safety reasons and no one can say at this stage when they will reopen."

The county council is co-ordinating action and looking after environmental issues, ports and harbours.

Borough and district councils are on standby to help the salvagers.

Each council is spending more than £30,000 on the operation. All the money should be recouped when insurance claims are settled but Keith Mercer, leader of Worthing Borough Council, warned that it could take up to five years.

He said the salvage company was footing the bill for the diggers to remove the wood but the council had to pay security and staff overtime costs during the operation, which was likely to last months.

He said: "We have contingencies for this.

"Whatever costs we incur we are going to have to join the queue to get it back."

There were fears rough seas could hurl the wood against shingle banks and groynes, causing flood defence damage.

However, there was only one unconfirmed report of minor damage at Shoreham.

Peter Evans, the county council's cabinet member for public protection, was concerned small craft and windsurfers might try to use the sea.

He said: "We would advise them to avoid the area until the all-clear is given.

"All the wood is being moved out of the tidal area and will be stored nearby for collection. Experts have told us the wood is useless after spending a week in salt water."

Salvagers suggest most of the wood should be pulped or turned into sawdust.

Staff at timber merchant Wenban-Smith, which has a depot in Newland Road, Worthing, said they had not been approached by anybody attempting to sell the wood.

Director John Kemp-Potter said: "We would not be interested in it. It has been soaked in sea water and would not be very stable."

One Worthing resident offered lengths of timber on eBay. More than 600 people looked at the listing, which warned: "Soaked in sea water. May get stopped by police collecting."

There were no bids.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has warned that those found keeping wood could be arrested and fined up to £2,500.

Anything removed from the site must be reported to the Receiver of Wreck within 28 days.

Sussex Police have been patrolling the coast but have made no arrests. They have issued a number of verbal warnings.

Local historian Chris Hare, 45, of Sussex Road, Worthing, said he was pleased to see people helping themselves to planks.

Mr Hare, who has written a series of books on the town's past, said the area had a long history of scavenging from wrecks, adding: "I spied a man cycling over Durrington railway bridge, about a mile inland, with a plank under his arm. At Goring in the evening I saw a very respectable couple in their 60s, carrying four or five blanks across the greensward, casting furtive looks in all directions in case they were spotted. It had shades of Whisky Galore."

Marine expert Stephen Savage said it was difficult to tell what damage the driftwood might do to wildlife.