The fire could remain a mystery

A senior officer of East Sussex Fire Brigade said the 137-year-old structure was now so unsafe that it "may not be worth the risk" of sending fire investigation officers on to the Victorian attraction.

The blaze has stripped the pavilion end of the Grade I listed structure to its original cast iron frame and it is still smouldering over 24 hours after the fire started.

About 40 firefighters tackled Friday's blaze, as up to 1,000 people lined the promenade to see the latest disaster to strike the pier, which has stood derelict since 1975.

Assistant Divisional Officer Frank Davis said: "While I appreciate that it is a Grade I listed building, it is not worth risking someone's life to try and determine the cause of something which may be indeterminable."

Smoke could still be seen coming from the pier on Sunday

He said the most probable cause of the blaze still remained an arson attack, but added that there was a very small possibility that the sun and fragments of glass could have triggered an ignition.

He added that any arson attack could have involved placing a device on the pier long before the fire actually started.

Meanwhile Rachel Clark, general manager of the West Pier Trust, reacted angrily to reports that smoke was spotted coming from the pavilion more than an hour before a member of the public dialled 999.

"If these people had called the fire brigade straight away then we could have stood some chance of putting it out so I am as frustrated as everyone else about that," she said.

She again stated that the Trust was "determined" to push ahead with the �30m restoration project, and speculated that the fire may save the project time, and possibly even money.

Part of the Pier collapsed in 2002

"If the fire hadn't happened, then in 18 months time we would have completely dismantled the building and started to reconstruct it.

"The truth now is that we won't have to dismantle it," she said.

Meanwhile, burnt timber and debris from the pier was still scattering the water around the structure and wood is continuing to wash up along Brighton's pebble beach.

Coastguards have warned the public about the dangers of swimming in the sea off Brighton beach and are urging vessels in the area to keep away from the scene because of the danger or floating debris.

If you take any digital images of the burning pier, by camera or phone, you can send them to us as yourpics@bbc.co.uk.