02/08/2014 South East Today

Residents in Eastbourne have launched

a campaign to raise money to help traders set up pop`up shops while

The Pier was badly damaged by fire on Wednesday.

Initially it was thought to have been started by an electrical fault

but now police are treating the blaze as suspicious.

The footage shows the moment smoke escaped from the peer. Seconds

later, plumes of spoken below from the building as firefighters

investigate. Flames and ignite and black smoke drifts from the

ballroom. Minutes later the roof is engulfed. Onlookers were stunned.

We saw thick clouds of smoke billowing down the street. We were

in our pyjamas, so we got dressed and ran down here. It was

horrendous. Within literally minutes the whole

seafront was full. Yesterday the Prime Minister visited

the site and pledged ?2 million to help support businesses and traders

affected by the fire. Sammy Morgan had only been there for three

weeks, and with hundreds of customers waiting for deliveries, it

is an anxious time. We need a plan of action to get our

teddy bears rescued from the peer. This is a ?2 million project, and

charities could lose out. As people come to terms with what

has happened, residents have put together to launch their own

campaign to raise money for traders so that they can set up pop`up shops

while the peer is out of action. We have raised ?1000, so we have a

little bit of money to get some of these businesses up and running in

the short`term. Police are treating the fire as

suspicious and say it could be arson. There is a heavy police

presence at the peer as the investigation continues.

Thousands of people lined the streets of Brighton today

Floats paraded from Madeira Drive conveying the theme 'The

World's A Disco', to Preston park, where 40,000 people are expected to

Organisers also hope to raise awareness of the countries

in the world where it's still illegal to be gay.

It makes us feel proud. The whole committee comes together

celebrating freedom to live and equality.

People get together that would not normally get together, so it is good

for everyone. In the Commonwealth games this

afternoon England men's hockey team, eight of whom are from the

South East, lost their game They will now play New Zealand

in the bronze medal match tomorrow Hundreds of people gathered

in Goudhurst today for the unveiling of a war memorial

to commemorate the centenary of the 90 years of dirt

and pollution was carefully removed from the old structure to reveal

names of those who lost their lives in the Great War, including some

that had been spelt incorrectly. Historians also researched

the stories behind the names. One hears a lot about young soldiers

exaggerating their age to get into the Army, but there are a few here

who knocked years off because they were afraid they were too old. Both

of them were in their 40s and I think they both knocked four years

off to make themselves appear more acceptable.

And our World War One commemorations continue with a special event

in Folkestone on Monday the 4th of August ` the day that war was

BBC South East Today and BBC Radio Kent will be broadcasting

live and you can join us at a free all`day event on the harbour.

Now the weather: the rain has not quite cleared just yet.

Once does it should be a dry night with clear spells and quite

comfortable might. We still have some showers working North East and

a bit of a breeze. Once that clears we have a pleasant evening and you

may even have some late sunshine. Temperatures down to 13 Celsius,

warmer along the coast to. Tomorrow is very different, bright and

breezy. Plenty of sunny spells. A south`westerly winds particularly

along the coast. Temperatures just reaching 22 Celsius, barely making

20 Celsius in some sports. A pleasant end to the weekend. Into

next week we have a decent start on Monday, largely fine and dry.

Becomes unsettled again on Jews they.

That from us, have a lovely evening.

that you have a very good evening, goodbye.