Work to begin on temporary fix of damaged pier

Interim repairs are to be carried out during the tidal window

Work to repair Worthing Pier after it was damaged by severe weather is to begin.

The West Sussex 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.

Adur & Worthing Council 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 set to be carried out during the tidal window on Wednesday afternoon.

The work will see contractors assemble a new steel support structure under the pier, which will take the weight off the damaged piles so they can be replaced, the council said.

The work will involve driving six steel piles into the seabed either side of the pier, and then fitting steel support beams and a steel truss on top of them.

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

The work is expected to last for about one week.