Southend Pier will finally get a comprehensive fire alarm system - nearly 50 years after the first blaze ravaged the landmark.

About £340,000 has been earmarked by Southend Council for the fire precaution measures on the pier.

The move was recommended in a damning report last June, which looked in detail at the pierhead fire of October, 2005.

The report criticised the council for not putting in adequate precautions in place which would have helped to limit the extent of the damage.

The report noted if an alarm system had been in place on the pier, the fire would have been detected 90 minutes earlier.

There has never been a fire alarm system covering the whole 1.3-mile long pier, despite a string of fires in the past 48 years, the first of which was in 1959.

Fran McGinty, whose bar, McGinty's, burnt down in the 2005 fire, said he felt the council should have been better prepared for a fire.

He said: "There is no doubt in my mind that more could have been saved if proper precautions had been put in place. When I saw the flames, my pub had just started to burn.

"The railway station, the shop and the arcades could have been saved if firefighters had been able to get there earlier."

But he added: "If it was my business, I would put two night watchmen at both ends of the pier with a clock-in system.

"If you put in any equipment, you are asking for a breakdown. If a human being is there, they are able to take action."

Ann Holland, Southend executive councillor for culture, said: "There were quite a lot of recommendations in the report.

"The idea is to safeguard it for the future, but you never know what might happen. All we can do is to put in place the best measures we can. We've had so many fires on the pier."

As part of the proposals, all fire alarm systems will be linked to a 24-hour monitoring service. New buildings on the pier will have to be equipped with a sprinkler system and an alarm.

These need to be regularly tested.

Firefighters, lifeboat crews and more council staff will also have to be trained in driving the pier trains in emergencies.