THE end platform of Great Yarmouth's jetty is to be removed because of safety fears. Decking, supporting steelwork and handrails will be removed after a health and safety inspection carried out last year revealed the structure was unsafe.

THE end platform of Great Yarmouth's jetty is to be removed because of safety fears, it was confirmed this week.

Decking, supporting steelwork and handrails will be removed after a health and safety inspection conducted last year revealed that the structure was unsafe.

The popular fishing hub has been off limits to the public since October, and this week the head of regeneration at the borough council, Tim Howard, said public safety was the key priority.

He said: "It is the only structure on the beach which reaches the water, and the end part is in very poor condition."

Mr Howard said the interim repairs, costing �90,000, were intended to make the structure safe and any money left over would be used to give the remaining structure a facelift to make it user- friendly.

In the long term, Mr Howard said, the council was committed to preserving the jetty, although no plans had yet been made for a major refurbishment - expected to cost in the region of �350,000. "It has got a future: we are not going to take it away," he said.

The work is expected to start next month, with a view to being finished in time for the main summer season.

Mr Howard said the future of the jetty also depended on the granting of the large casino licence to Yarmouth, and on whether a potential developer showed interest in the Golden Mile site put forward for development by the council. The develop-ment site runs from the Marina Centre to the Winter Gardens and includes sections of the central beach and jetty.

A jetty was first built in Yarmouth in 1560 to provide a landing stage for vessels using the port. The structure was swept away a couple of times because of high tides and one was rebuilt in the 1800s. Nelson reportedly landed there in the 1800s.