Pier fan wants to see return of Birdman in Bognor

The enthusiast spoke in favour of the eccentric competition returning to its home town during the latest stage of his PierCrawl.

This is taking him around all the UK's 56 piers for the second time. His first grand tour of the distinctive seaside structures resulted in his book, Walking over the Waves.

Chris (67), of Bishop Auckland, said: "It's very sad about Bognor pier having been shortened earlier this year and the Birdman has moved away.

"Let's have the Birdman back here. It's a superb British competition. There's no point to it but it's a lot of fun."

Chris said he believed the pier could be lengthened to replace the length removed last spring without too much cost.

"I think piers are on their way back. There are many piers being restored and the future of them looks promising.

"When you go to the seaside, what's better than to go on a pier?"

He praised Bognor pier for its Conservatory, which he describes as a handsome front pavilion.

"That is unique," he explained. "There's no other pier in the country with a building like that."

He used last Friday'svisit to have an inside look around the Conservatory and former theatre building on the pier, thanks to manager Angie Edlin.

Author and broadcaster Chris, the brother of comedian Victoria Wood, fell in love with piers as a young child.

"I have loved piers ever since I went on my first one at the age of six with my nana.

"I looked through the cracks in the boards and saw the waves crashing underneath.

"It was very exciting and very frightening at the same time," he stated.

"It's always been my ambition to go round the whole lot of them and I finally achieved that last year.

Chris's books details the history of every pier, with many photographs, and gives his opinion about them.

His verdict on Bognor, nestled between Blackpool South and Boscombe alphabetically? Plain and simple with a time of 1m 35s to walk from end to end.

Walking over the Waves is published by Whittles Publishing, priced 16.99. ISBN 978-1-90445-67-8.