Two men arrested over Hastings pier blaze

It has been confirmed that two suspects have been arrested in connection with an arson attack on Hastings pier in East Sussex in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The flames were so fierce that most of the pier has been destroyed as fire crews battled to keep the situation under control.

The major fire was reported at about 1:00am and nearly 60 firefighters arrived at the scene on RNLI lifeboats to try and extinguish the flames.

A spokesman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said on Tuesday morning:

“It’s still a major blaze.

“At the moment about 95% of the structure has been destroyed. It’s quite significant.

“It’s a very historic building and landmark for Hastings. The priority for the firefighters is to preserve as much of the structure as they can to see if something can be done with it in the future.”

The two men are currently being questioned over how the fire was started.

A Sussex Police spokesman said:

“The origins of the fire are still being investigated and at this time two males have been detained for questioning.

“Sussex Police and Sussex Fire and Rescue are still dealing with the fire and advise anyone driving in the area of the A259 in Hastings to take alternative routes.”

There were no injuries reported following the incident.