Brighton West Pier: Argus readers share memories of 2003 fire

Thousands flocked to Brighton seafront as smoke billowed into the sky from the pavilion of the once magnificent pier.

Coastguard helicopters and boats, police and as many as 40 firefighters all worked to save the structure but to no avail.

Residents and visitors alike stopped to watch the event play out, with traffic along the seafront brought to a standstill as people watched in horror and helplessness at the blaze.

Debbie Miller was at home at Seven Dials at the time of the fire.

“You could really smell wood burning from there - of course, I didn’t know it was the pier until later,” she said.

Jintender Sokhy also said he remembered smelling the smoke from as far away as BHASVIC in Dyke Road, Hove, where he was a sixth-form student.

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Mark O’Keefe remembered the tragic day well. He said: “I’d been driving to Seaford the evening before and the starlings above the pier were doing their thing.

“I made that fateful error of not stopping to take a photo as there’s always another time, I thought.

“Only there wasn’t - I watched it burn the next day.”

One reader described the fire simply as “one of the worst days in the history of Brighton” while another said: “Brighton lost a lot of its character that day and now it lies derelict and lifeless."

The West Pier today (Image: The Argus)

Others also shared their fond memories of the pier before the fire gutted it.

Graham Goodwin from Hollingdean said he met his first wife on the pier back in 1965.

“Let’s build a new pier - it would be a pleasure to see and enjoy it again,” he said.

Kate Thomas recalled how she took a tour on the pier when it was closed.

“It was a beautiful pier. When it caught fire, I ran down to see it go up - it was a very sad day,” she said.

Reflecting on the years that have passed since the tragedy, Haley Rolfe said: “Where once stood a platform for people to dance is now just a ruin for people to reminisce.”