Grand Pier owners Kerry and Michelle Michael have praised the efforts of a student who produced a project about last year's blaze.

Alexis Birakos, a Year 8 pupil at Clifton College, has completed a study on how businesses in the town were affected by the pier fire on July 28.

It was feared that the fire would impact on businesses in the area if tourists stayed away because the pier pavilion had been destroyed.

Alexis looked at the issue as part of a geography project and has now sent it to Michelle and Kerry, who say it is a useful piece of research.

Alexis said: "I carried out a questionnaire and was very surprised because 56 per cent said that their business stayed the same since the pier burnt down and I thought that the majority of business would have been adversely affected especially as 84 per cent of businesses thought that the pier played a really important role in attracting tourists to Weston."

The report suggests that drops in business could also have been attributed to other factors such as the current recession.

Alexis also surveyed members of the public at Bristol Zoo, where he found the majority of people had not been to Weston since the fire but were quite positive about going back when the pierwas re-built.

Michelle said: "Alexis's project is very impressive as he appears to have left no stone un-turned in his research.

"The findings make for some interesting reading for us and we are aware of how important the pier is to local businesses, which is why we have been so keen to get it rebuilt as quickly as possible. In some ways the damaged pier became an attraction in itself last year as many people came to Weston to look at it and the full effects of the fire on local tourism will not be known until the end of this season."

The information in the project will be used by the Grand Pier as part of its planning for the future.

Geography teacher Roger Mills said Alexis had clearly worked hard and produced an interesting investigation.

He said: "We try and encourage all Year 8 children to choose something local and interesting to them.

"This is part of their coursework and this will count for 20 per cent of their overall mark.

"I am delighted that Alexis's work will help in promoting the opening of the new structure."