Southend Pier's fire-stricken history has forced the council to fork out an extra £100,000 to insure it.

The landmark had been re-insured with a new company only days before it burnt down in October 2005 and the insurance firm has now refused to renew its cover.

The extra charges, on top of the estimated £500,000 premium, are included in Southend Council's budget proposals for the year.

Brian Kelly, cabinet member for resources, said: "It is almost incredible that, after a new tendering process, a new insurer had taken over on October 1, only days before the fire.

"We have had to look again at the insurance and accept that, with a long history of fires on the pier, we have to pay more to find a company prepared to accept the risk.

"This shows the council's commitment to the pier and our determination to see it develop again the future.

"It is one of those costs which you have to accept when you are dealing with a unique structure which is not comparable anywhere else in the world."

Ann Holland, cabinet member for leisure, said she believed the council had got the best possible deal from the new insurers.

She said: "The pier has to be insured and safe for the public to use and we have to make sure we are fully covered for any problems."

When the first pierhead fire took place in 1976, a big problem was that the structure was underinsured and the council was unable to reconstruct parts of the fire-damaged planking until more than 20 years later.

Mrs Holland said it was vital the council made sure there were no similar issues in future, especially as development proposals for the pierhead are being planned.