Anthony Carroll JUST a week after an arsonist targeted Great Yarmouth's Wellington Pier, a new attraction was opened at the iconic seafront building.The ten lane bowling alley and restaurant opened at the new look Wellington Pier and Winter Gardens complex on Saturday, the final part of a £2m project to convert the pier's theatre into a state of the art entertainment facility owned by Essex-based Family Amusements.

Anthony Carroll

JUST a week after an arsonist targeted Great Yarmouth's Wellington Pier, a new attraction was opened at the iconic seafront building.

The ten lane bowling alley and restaurant opened at the new look Wellington Pier and Winter Gardens complex on Saturday, the final part of a £2m project to convert the pier's theatre into a state of the art entertainment facility owned by Essex-based Family Amusements.

Last week, a sharp-eyed gardener spotted smoke coming from the building's roof and called firefighters. The fire had been started in a drain water pipe.

If it had been left to burn unseen for another 20 minutes it is thought the 155-year-old pier may have burnt to the ground.

Pier operations manager Andrew Green said: “We were very, very fortunate that someone on site spotted the smoke in time as the damage caused was easily repairable. We are very proud of what we have achieved at the pier. After bowling people can then go on the pier and enjoy the fantastic vistas of Yarmouth's seafront.”

During the dismantling and re-building of the old theatre a covered-up stained glass window was discovered and now takes centre place in the bowling alley complex, which also features the site's original arched columns.

Wellington Pier opened in 1853 and was taken over by Family Amusements in 2001, after it had had a spell in the hands of comedian Jim Davidson.

The arson attack is being investigated by detectives. Anyone with information should call Det Con Neil Starland at Yarmouth CID on 0845 4564567.