Video taking off 16x its usual first day

Brighton's West Pier loses more of its frame to Storm Austen

ITV News shows the collapse from the shore, then returns to the phone footage captured by witness Simon Haffenden.

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ITV News Story of October 25, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 440,124 views a day, 16 times a normal first day on this channel (27,080).

Watch moment Brighton's historic pier partially falls into sea as Storm Austen whips up waves

Things we can learn from the video

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0:15Karen Goodwin describes swerving and braking as a falling tree crushes the car ahead of her.
2:13Waves batter Brighton's West Pier, and parts of its surviving framework collapse into the sea.
6:14Cornwall and Devon reports cover power outages, school closures and widespread storm disruption.
17:28Simon Haffenden's smartphone footage shows the West Pier collapse from his viewpoint.
20:43Canceled Chester-Holyhead trains leave travelers facing congested roads and dangerous standing water.

Simon Haffenden had his phone trained on Brighton's West Pier when part of its surviving steel framework fell into the tide. He describes disbelief at capturing the moment, and sadness at seeing another piece of the landmark disappear.

The pier is Brighton's ruined West Pier, not the working Palace Pier farther along the seafront. Opened in 1866, it was devastated by fires in 2003. Its skeletal remains have nevertheless stayed part of the city's coastal skyline.

ITV News's storm compilation drew an estimated 440,000 views in its first day, against a usual first-day audience of about 27,000 for its regular videos. The collapse first appears just over two minutes in; Haffenden's account and smartphone footage come much later in the report.

The wider broadcast puts that coastal damage alongside the disruption on land. In Horsham, witness Karen Goodwin describes swerving and braking when a falling tree crushed the car ahead of her. Reports from Cornwall and Devon cover power outages and school closures, while railway updates explain how fallen trees and other blockages disrupted journeys.

Earlier coverage here followed the warnings ahead of Austen. This report shows what followed, ending in northeast Wales, where canceled trains pushed more travelers onto roads already affected by standing water.

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