Man arrested after pier blaze

The 32-year-old man was taken into custody on Tuesday to be interviewed by police officers in relation to the fire. He was bailed until May 30 to enable further inquiries to take place.

The blaze wrecked a storage room on the pier used for keeping paint, tools and other maintenance equipment.

It was started in a wheelie bin on the western side of the pier building at 1.55am on Tuesday. Its ferocity saw it spread into the main pier building. The container, full of paper for recycling, was underneath the fire escape from the pier's upper floor.

Firefighters from Bognor, pictured right, soon attended. They spent almost two-and-a-half hours there. Fire and police officers returned to the scene later in the morning for further examinations.

Pier owner John Ayers said he believed the alleged arsonist was seen by one of the CCTV cameras along the seafront. A passer-by raised the alarm, he added.