A major fire has destroyed the historic Grand Pier in the British seaside resort town of Weston-super-Mare this morning.
Flames and thick black smoke engulfed the structure and could be seen from the M5 motorway, several miles from the coast, a fire brigade spokeswoman said.
Television footage showed much of the pier well alight, with smoke billowing high into the sky above the beach.
An Avon Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said there were no reports of any injuries.
"I don't have any reports of any casualties at this stage," she told BBC radio. "It is a very well established fire and it could take some time for us to put it out." Police closed part of the beach and told people to stay away from the town centre. A spokesman said there were large traffic jams in the area.
"All you can see is thick, thick black smoke and loads of red flame," an eyewitness told BBC Radio Bristol. "The whole of the Grand Pier, the top of it, is collapsing. It's just really, really sad."
Fire officials said it was too early to say what caused the blaze. An investigation will begin once the fire is out.
The pier was built in 1904 to attract visitors to the town centre. The quarter-mile long structure has housed a music hall, theatre and a go-kart track.
It reopened in April after an extensive refurbishment.
A fire service spokesman said the main blaze was now extinguished and firefighters were dampening down the remaining embers.
He said: "It's now a question of dampening it down and clearing it up so we can get in and start to investigate the cause.
"It's too early a stage to say what happened and we would not speculate.
"Determining how and where it started is likely not to take place until tomorrow, possibly late today".
REUTERS