Work to repair weather-damaged pier under way

Worthing Pier was closed on 10 October after engineers discovered it had been damaged during a storm

Work to repair a pier in West Sussex after it was damaged by severe weather is under way.

Worthing Pier was closed on 10 October after engineers discovered one of the underside supports had been damaged during a storm.

Some businesses based on the pier previously said they were “blindsided” by the temporary closure.

The first of six steel piles designed to support the structure has been was installed during low tide on Wednesday afternoon.

Adur & Worthing Councils said it was "keen to allow residents and visitors back onto the pier to allow the popular businesses to begin trading again" but had to make sure it was "totally safe".

Interim repairs are being carried out on Worthing Pier during the tidal window

During the first spring low tide of November on Tuesday, contractors were able to safely check the stability of the ground under the pier and began drilling the first two of six holes for the new steel piles.

The first piles were then driven into the seabed until only around a third of each was left above the surface of the beach, the council said.

The authority said it hoped that the remaining four piles will be driven into the seabed in the coming days, so that a supporting structure can be built on top of them.

The new steel support structure is designed to take the weight off damaged piles so that they can then be replaced.

A council spokesperson said: "We will aim to keep disruption to a minimum, but unfortunately there will be some noise during the work, including in the early hours of tomorrow morning.”

The work is expected to last for about one week.