A fire that gutted Eastbourne Pier is now being treated as a potential arson attack, police announced yesterday.

About 80 firefighters tacked the blaze on the Grade II listed Victorian attraction on Wednesday, which left part of it a scorched shell.

Previously its cause was not treated as suspicious but now Sussex Police say they have new information suggesting the blaze on the 144-year-old structure “may have been started by someone, either deliberately or accidentally.”

The revelation came after Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne visited the resort.

Det-Insp Mark O’Brien of Sussex Police said: “A temporary scaffold platform has been erected adjacent to where the fire is thought to have broken out in order to enable scenes of crime officers and fire investigators safe access to the area.”

Police have called on people to submit pictures or video footage taken at the entrance or on the pier in the hours before it started.

Supt Laurence Taylor said: “The area around and under the pier is still very hazardous and there is a security team deployed to stop people putting themselves in danger.”