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Fire breaks out on seaside pier Fire tears through seaside pier
(9 minutes later)
Fire crews are tackling a blaze at the Grand Pier in the Somerset seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare.Fire crews are tackling a blaze at the Grand Pier in the Somerset seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service said six engines were at the scene and described the incident as a "large fire".Avon Fire and Rescue Service said six engines were at the scene and described the incident as a "large fire".
One eyewitness told the BBC the blaze broke out at the foot of the West Tower and smoke was billowing out to sea.One eyewitness told the BBC the blaze broke out at the foot of the West Tower and smoke was billowing out to sea.
BBC Radio Bristol reporter Nigel Dando, who is at the scene, said it looked as if the pier had collapsed on itself. BBC Radio Bristol reporter Nigel Dando, who is at the scene, said: "It looks as if the pier has collapsed on itself. Nothing is going to be saved."
"Nothing is going to be saved," he said. Inferno
"I'm about 200 yards away from the fire, there'll be nothing left after this fire, it's a desperately sad scene.""I'm about 200 yards away from the fire, there'll be nothing left after this fire, it's a desperately sad scene."
Marie Harding, from the Royal Hotel on the seafront, said: "You can just see huge, great big smoke and loads and loads of flames and lots of firemen, lots and lots of people taking photos. Dee Williams, deputy manager of the Grand Atlantic Hotel, which lies 200 yards from the pier, said: "It is an inferno. There will be no pier by tonight.
"It's one of the pillars, it looks really, really bad." "There are loud bangs going off, which could be fireworks because there was a display on there recently. The tide is out and I think they are having difficulty getting water to it.
"My night porter spotted the flames at 7.15am. There are lots of people about, watching the fire, and the police have blocked off the road.
"The pier was bought by new owners and done up recently, it is part of our identity and would really affect trade if we were to lose it."
Jacquie Whelan, owner of Sunfold Hotel on Beach Road, said: "I just looked out of the window about 10 minutes ago when I woke up and could not believe what I was seeing.
"It is the most horrendous thing. They are massive red flames, hundreds of feet in the air, all over the pier.
"We are a five minute walk to the pier and from where I am standing it just looks like a huge bonfire. It is not going to survive."
Bruce Watson, who works at the Sovereign shopping centre opposite the Grand Pier, said: "The fire has taken complete control of the pier, they won't be able to repair it.
"It's just a shell virtually now, the flames are hundreds of feet high and the smoke into the thousands of feet."
The quarter-of-a-mile-long pier, which attracts thousands of visitors a year, reopened in April after a massive revamp.The quarter-of-a-mile-long pier, which attracts thousands of visitors a year, reopened in April after a massive revamp.


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