Woman visits pier her great-grandfather built

Victoria Wake, great-granddaughter of Henry Hay Wake, last stepped onto the pier in 1966

A woman has flown from the United States to visit the pier and lighthouse her great-grandfather built.

Victoria Wake, from California, was given special access to the tunnel underneath the 2,000 ft (609m)-long Roker Pier in Sunderland.

The structure, which took 18 years to build and was opened in 1903, was created by Henry Hay Wake.

Her visit coincided with public tours resuming at the site after being suspended for nearly two years following "significant structural damage" from Storm Babet in 2023.

The pier opened, earlier this month, after undergoing about £236,000 worth of works to make it safe for visitors again.

Ms Wake, who was given her own tour, said: "It felt really special to feel that my great-grandfather made such a contribution in the design of the building that's still significant today."

The tunnel, which is narrow in parts, extends the full length of Roker Pier

She last visited the structure when she was 15 in 1966, but could only view it from a distance as tunnel tours did not begin until several decades later.

"We had a box of Wake memorabilia and every once and a while we'd get it out and look at photographs, letters and certificates so from a child I knew he built it.

"I didn't know any of the details and how new and innovative the techniques were," Ms Wake said.

Maureen McCartney says demand for the tours, which began in 2018, has been "phenomenal"

Maureen McCartney, vice chair at Roker Pier Heritage Group, said she was delighted Ms Wake had returned for a one-off tour.

She said it was "absolutely fantastic" to be restarting tours and demand had been phenomenal.

"Tickets went on sale on Monday and they were sold out by Monday night," she said.

"We're a little group these days of purely volunteers, we do it purely for the love it."