Repairs are being carried out on a landmark pier in a programme of works costing £140,000.

Engineers are working on concrete beams and the steps leading down to Deal Pier's lower deck.

Scaffolding will be put up on the lower deck and a safety boat will be taking to the water around the pier.

Thousands of people visit the attraction, which is home to a busy cafe and also featured in hit ITV drama Liar, every year.

However, the lower deck has been closed since April as a precautionary measure after structural experts abseiled to find work needed to be done on the steps.

It will remain shut for a further 12 weeks with Dover District Council (DDC) expecting to reopen it in January.

Both the main part of the pier and the café bar remain open.

Further repairs of the damaged concrete on the pier legs are being planned to take place next year.

The need for the renovations was highlighted in August when pictures showed the extent of the deterioration of the rusty legs.

Piers need continuous repairs and maintenance because they face the effects of the sea and the coastal weather all year round.

DDC cabinet member for corporate property, Cllr Charlotte Zosseder, said: “We are pleased to be able to start these repair works, following the structural survey earlier this year.

“Deal Pier is a popular attraction for both residents and visitors and is a key asset to the district, and it’s important that we continue to invest in it for the future.”

The present Deal Pier is 1,026 ft (313 metres) long and the third built on the seafront since 1838.

The first was lost to decay and storm damage in 1857 and the second was destroyed by a ship accidentally crashing into it in 1940.

It took three years to construct the existing one and it was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in November 1957.

It is considered to be the town’s most iconic landmark and is internationally recognised as an angling venue.

The statue at the entrance, named Embracing the Sea, is three tonnes of bronze and was put in place in 1998.

The pier, along with other parts of Deal, as well as Kingsdown, was a setting for the harrowing ITV crime drama Liar in 2017.

Investment has continued over the years, including the opening of a new-look cafe-bar in 2019.