Unseen pictures of Hastings Pier damage after fire

Hastings Pier was torn down by demolition crews after a huge blaze tore through the structure in October 2010.

A view from a lifeboat of the Hastings pier fire

And almost 13 years later, Kev Clark has shared his pictures from the demolition work that followed.

He said he spotted a picture of Marine Court, a cruise liner-shaped building on the seafront, in a local Facebook group - and was inspired to post his pictures of the pier.

A colourful sky over the wreck of the pier (Image: Kev Clark)

Kev, who now lives in Bexhill, worked as a demolition contractor on the pier, working from a barge stationed just offshore while he dismantled the structure into smaller pieces.

The 47-year-old said: "One evening the sun was setting over the coast, and I thought I had to take a picture of it.

"And when I saw the post on Facebook the other day it reminded me of that picture, and I was like 'Oh, actually I'll put all of my pictures in the group'"

He shared his pictures from inside - and outside - the pier while it was being chipped away by teams.

The crane Kev was lifted in (Image: Kev Clark)

The recovery work started in 2013 and was part of a wider plan to bring the pier back into use.

"We worked a lot of nights, being lowered by a crane into certain parts to cut all the bits of steel into manageable bits.

"We got all the timber, steel, you name it. It was crazy to work on it.

"Everyone has been there, and remembers the big old penny machines, fishing or even clubs. I went clubbing there in the 90s.

"It was sad to take apart as we didn't know what was going happen to it," he said.

The damage to the pier (Image: Kev Clark)

The 144-year-old pier was restored and reopened in 2016 after a £14.2 million redevelopment.

It was closed for safety reasons in 2006, and was unoccupied at the time of the fire in 2010.