A fundraiser to help restore Teignmouth Pier after it was damaged by Storm Ingrid has already generated over £8,000 despite criticism.

The owners of Teignmouth Pier launched a GoFundMe page on Tuesday (January 27) to raise cash to pay for urgent structural repairs after the end of the Victorian landmark was washed away by high seas on Friday night (January 23).

However, the fundraiser has generated a social media backlash with questions being raised over why the public should step in to help a privately owned business.

Concerns have also been raised about how the funds will be used.

Speaking on behalf of the owners, Maddy Brenner pledged full transparency and said that invoices for work carried out would be published and photos of progress would be publicly available.

Her comments came as Teignmouth Pier revealed the contents of a structural investigation carried out on Tuesday (January 27).

As well as the loss of the end section, the pier also sustained damage to its external fire escapes and some water ingress to a strip of flooring inside the buildings.

However, the pier structure underneath the buildings that house the arcade and café were deemed to be safe and the pier has been able to partially reopen.

Teignmouth Pier hopes to bring in £250,000 from its GoFundMe page, although it admits the cost of a total renovation could run into the £millions.

‘We are incredibly grateful for the generosity shown so far and for the continued support from our community — it truly means more to us than we can put into words,’ Maddy said.