Watch: Moment part of Brighton's historic West Pier collapses

Part of Brighton's historic West Pier has collapsed into the sea, its skeletal iron frame giving way under the punishing waves and driving rain of Storm Austen.

Footage obtained by the BBC shows one side of the famous East Sussex landmark crumpling as enormous waves slam into it, sending debris tumbling into the water below. The section fell away as the storm battered the coastline.

First opened in 1866, the West Pier was once a jewel of Victorian seaside leisure, drawing up to two million visitors a year at its peak. Its fortunes faded after World War Two, and it shut to the public in 1975. Left to decay, the derelict pier has nonetheless become a beloved symbol of Brighton, its rusting frame silhouetted against the skyline.

The collapse is the latest chapter in the structure's long ruin. Major sections fell into the sea during storms in late 2002, and two separate fires the following year destroyed most of what remained. Since then, successive storms have continued to erode the ironwork, leaving the pier ever more fragile.

Storm Austen has brought severe wet and windy weather to parts of the UK, with forecasters warning of damaging gusts and towering coastal waves. The pier's latest collapse is a dramatic reminder of the storm's power - and of how little of the once-grand Victorian landmark survives.