Mumbles Pier owners 'saddened' after alleged thieves steal metal and alcohol days after huge fire

WS020922 MUMBLES PIER SWP HERO
Thick black smoke could be seen for miles after the fire broke out at Mumbles Pier and destroyed parts of the site Credit: South Wales Police

Staff and business owners at Mumbles Pier have spoken of their disappointment after thieves allegedly broke into a restaurant just days after it was destroyed by fire.

Firefighters spent hours battling the blaze as it swept through a building on the shore-end of the pier on Wednesday, August 31, with thick black smoke visible for miles.

A spokesperson for Mumbles Pier said owners Bert and Fred Bollom and their staff headed down to the site on Friday (September 2) to start clearing up the rubble and debris from the fire.

They said they then discovered that people had broken past the barriers overnight and taken advantage of the incident, which saw palls of thick black smoke over Swansea Bay."Last night people went down to the site and took all the valuable scrap from the demolition and the alcohol from behind the bar," the spokesperson said.

Emergency services spent hours trying to extinguish the huge fire Credit: Media Wales

"We're really saddened, they're opportunists that have taken advantage of the situation."

Flames completely destroyed the popular restaurant Copperfish and a huge neighbouring community room, known by many locals as the former Cinderella's nightclub.

No-one was injured in the fire and the blaze never spread to the amusements, Beach Hut cafe, RNLI base or the pier itself, but it has been confirmed that tropical fish in tanks at Copperfish restaurant died in the incident.

Photos of the scene, taken on Thursday, showed damage to Copperfish restaurant, with part of the roof having collapsed and many walls and fixtures disintegrated.

Dozens of tables, chairs and striking artworks had been destroyed and debris and rubble could be seen throughout the building.

The site is said to remain "unsafe" and members of the public are reminded not to trespass past the safety barriers.

Beach Hut cafe and the amusements arcade at Mumbles Pier have since re-opened to the public.

They, and the pier itself, were not affected by the fire and the pier has been open to visitors since Thursday (September 1) afternoon.

Mumbles Pier's owners said they were saddened to hear alleged thieves had broken into the fire-damaged sit Credit: Media Wales

All Copperfish staff have been redeployed to other businesses on the pier, including the arcade and the Beach Hut cafe and it's said that no jobs have been lost.

Events booked at Mumbles Pier will also still go ahead, as the pier's function space is based in the Beach Hut cafe which was unaffected by the fire.

Bert and Fred said they were devastated by the fire but were grateful for the support of their staff and the wider community.

"Before anything else, I'd just to like to thank the emergency services and everyone who was involved in putting out the fire," said co-owner Bert.

"They went above and beyond and we're really grateful for everyone's effort in it, the police have been wonderful.

Onlookers watched as emergency services attempted to get the fire under control Credit: Media Wales

"All my staff, I can't thank them all enough. That said, as a family and as a business we are mortified. Words can't cover how I feel at the moment. I'm so upset, it's something else."

Bert's brother and co-owner of Mumbles Pier, Fred Bollom, said: "I think we're really grateful for our staff as well.

"They cleared the site as quickly as they could. There's no issues, no injuries, so we're very thankful for that at the moment, and we just continue to assess the damage."