​Birnbeck Pier in Weston-super-Mare is continuing to deteriorate and fears have been raised over its neglected state.

The Grade II* listed structure has now been closed to the public for 17 years.

Hopes were raised for its future when Urban Splash South West bought the pier from owner Peter Lay in 2006 with high aspirations for a major regeneration scheme.

However, last year Urban Splash said it was not in a position to redevelop the pier due to the recession.

Mike Davies, executive committee member for the National Piers Society, said: "We are not seeing anything happen and we have the whole structure to do, including all the planking.

"With the new Grand Pier looking swish it appears Birnbeck has been forgotten. The last thing we want to see is the pier lost to the sea.

A spokesman from Urban Splash said: "We have recently completed some successful trial repairs to the pier and are hoping to use the knowledge gained to seek funding for a further package of repairs.

"We are working on this with our stakeholder partners including North Somerset Council, English Heritage, RNLI and the Friends of the Old Pier Society."

The RNLI in Weston uses Birnbeck to launch its lifeboats and said it carries out six-monthly checks to ensure it is safe.