Friday 23 October 2026. Developing story. Main photograph: archive image of the West Pier before today’s collapse, not footage of Storm Austen.
Part of Brighton’s West Pier has collapsed into the sea during Storm Austen. The damage was reported on Friday morning, 23 October, as waves battered the seafront.
Brighton and Hove News reported the collapse at 10.20am. The Argus also reported the damage. Its Facebook coverage credits Simon Haffenden with video showing waves striking the structure.
What has happened?
The reports concern a section of the surviving West Pier ruin. They do not establish that the whole remaining structure has disappeared. The precise extent of the damage still needs a detailed assessment.
The Trust’s existing warning
The West Pier Trust, which owns the remains, has long warned that further sections will fall. Its existing guidance describes a ruin that is continuing to deteriorate and says it is unsafe to approach.
The Trust explains that maintaining the remains in a fixed condition is beyond its financial and technical means. Its management arrangements include marking the site, warning visitors and clearing wreckage washed ashore. This is standing guidance, rather than a new statement assessing today’s damage.
For anyone on the seafront
Do not approach the remains or enter the water to inspect the damage. Follow any barriers and instructions from emergency services. See our separate Brighton coastal weather report for the wider storm context.
Watch the original coverage
Open The Argus’s original Facebook report. We have linked to the publisher’s coverage rather than republishing the eyewitness recording.
Archive photograph: Anthony Wade / Unsplash, used under the Unsplash licence. The photograph predates today’s collapse and does not show today’s sea conditions.
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