Mystery remains over pier blaze

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Fire officials say there is unlikely to be a quick answer over what caused the fire which destroyed the pier at Weston-super-Mare.

The Grand Pier in the North Somerset town was engulfed by a blaze which began in the kitchens on Monday.

Avon Fire and Rescue said the skeleton of the 104-year old attraction was "incredibly unstable" and it was still unsafe to let investigators inside.

It also denied reports of scavenging on the beach near to the structure.

Articles such as exploded gas canisters and beer barrels from the ruined bar have been cleared from the shore by the emergency services which are still operating a 300m exclusion zone.

Pier owner Kerry Michael and his managers met on Tuesday to discuss the future of the pier and its 100 staff.

'Wash ashore'

Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue spokesman James Bladon said: "It will be quite a long investigation.

"I wouldn't even like to put a time on it. The area is incredibly unstable - you can't just go in and poke around.

"We've got a 300-metre exclusion zone in place which is holding. We've not heard of anyone scavenging. It's a large area - I don't know what people might have found outside that. It certainly hasn't hampered the investigation."

In a joint statement, North Somerset Council, the police and fire service said: "Following the fire, the beach has been cleaned of all debris, and will continue to be cleaned should any more debris wash ashore with the tide.

"The current fenced exclusion zone in place around the pier will also be reduced as soon as it is safe to do so to allow increased public access to the beach."

Kerry Michael spent £1m revamping the attraction he bought in February.

The 49-year-old entrepreneur told a press conference on Monday night that the "tragic event" was "truly devastating" as he only regarded himself as a custodian of the attraction for future generations.

Andrew Horler, the town's mayor said: "Weston will live up to the town motto of Ever Forward and move on from this."