It seems Southend Council has held countless public consultations into the future of the pier as it tries to rebuild it after the devastating fire of October 2005.

As themes for the redevelopment of the landmark slowly take shape, some new contributors have now waded into the fray - Year 3 children from Darlinghurst Primary School, in Leigh.

The youngsters, who are learning about tourism at the moment, have thought up their own ideas for how Southend Pier should be redeveloped.

The designs drawn by the pupils are now on display at the pier visitors' centre.

The class is taught by Gemma Peacher and Amanda Pottle, who used the example of the pier as part of a project on the local environment.

Mrs Pottle said: "We were looking at the impact that the 2005 fire had on tourism in the area.

"Some people might go to look at the damage. Some people might not have known about the pier until it was on the national news.

"Other people might not have visited because the entertainment on the end had been lost."

She added: "Then we looked at the way it is being redesigned and what the pier of the future might be like."

While you might expect children to want a space station or a huge rollercoaster at the end of the pier, their ideas were, in fact, more down to earth.

Mrs Pottle said: "The children had been told that years ago there used to be a log flume coming out of the side of the pier, to where the Golden Hind is now.

"It was taken away after complaints, but the idea was very popular with the children, so a lot of their designs feature that."

She added: "I was surprised a lot of them wanted viewing platforms where they could sit.

"We tend to think the older people want that, but our children seemed to appreciate it's nice to just sit and watch too."

Mrs Pottle said the children greatly enjoyed the pier project because they could relate to the subject, as most had visited the seafront landmark.

She added: "As they had worked so hard, we thought it would be good to have a presentation of their work."

Tavis Wilkie, seven, said: "I drew lots of new shops - restaurants and food shops and lots of different clothes shops. The pier would need to be a little bit bigger."

He added: "I enjoyed the project.

"I have been to the pier and I like the view. I like going to the seafront to see the birds and shells and to see the pottery that is found there."