Rumours are flooding the internet that Blackpool’s Central Pier has collapsed in March 2023, but is it true?
The city actually has three piers in total, but Central Pier is the most popular and well known, which was built in 1868.
Located 550 yards from Blackpool Tower, the pier has a number of attractions including a 33 metre big wheel and funfair.
There is also North Pier, which has a theatre, tea room and arcade, and South Pier, where people go for adrenaline rides.
The three piers bring thousands of tourists to the North of England every year and it’s a popular summer holiday destination.
Has Central Pier really caved in? Read on to find out…
Has Blackpool Pier collapsed in 2023?
No, Blackpool’s iconic Central Pier has not collapsed.
The fake news stems from a TikTok video posted by a user with the handle @paradise17.1 this week which says: “Central pier is going down in Blackpool.”
The clip sees waves crash onto a pier, making a hole in it and taking away the wooden panels. The camera then zooms into some police officers inspecting the damage.
If the police officer uniform didn’t already give it away already, the video isn’t actually of Central Pier in Blackpool at all and the whole think is a prank.
The video has been copied from another user and shows Capitola Wharf near Santa Cruz in California, USA, being torn down by a storm in January 2023.
TikTok debunks the fake video
Many from Blackpool instantly knew it wasn’t famous the wooden structure and took to the comments to debunk the video.
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One person wrote: “Lol that’s not Blackpool as I’m standing on Central Pier right now.”
“Definitely not Blackpool somewhere in America, funny police uniform,” another said.
A third person added: “Blackpool’s promenade looks very different – it’s landscaped.”
“That’s not Blackpool, way too clean,” another joked.
Someone else agreed: “Too clean to be Blackpool sea.”
However, others were fooled by the clip and thought Blackpool’s pleasure pier had actually been torn down by the sea.
This isn’t the first time Brits have been tricked on TikTok. Last year, a video claimed the government was imposing a 2am club curfew, but it wasn’t real.
Central Pier went up in flames
Central Pier has never been damaged in a storm, but it did go up in flames in July 2020.
A large fire engulfed parts of the historic pier in the early hours of the morning, including a fairground ride and engineering shed.
Around 50 Lancashire firefighters were called to tackle the blaze at 3am on July 17 and there were 10 fire engines at the scene.
It came a week after the attraction reopened following the pandemic. Blackpool’s North Pier also sustained substantial damage in 2013 due to a storm.
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