A Kent building firm may not have found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - but it has clinched a £1.1m contract to create a "lasting and striking landmark" at the end of the pier.

Barwick Construction, of Dover, has won the contract to build a new cafe and bar at the end of Deal pier.

Chairman Richard Barwick said: "We are thrilled to be involved in such an important local project. When complete, it will provide Deal with a lasting and striking landmark."

A stroll down Deal Pier's timeline

*Deal Pier is the only pier in Britain to be built since the end of the Second World War. It is one of the only two remaining piers in Kent. The other is at Herne Bay.

*There have been three piers at Deal. J. Rennie designed the first in 1838 but due to financial difficulties the construction work was halted at half the length of the pier's original design.*Severe storm damage deposited the pier on the beach in 1857. Eugenius Birch designed the second pier in 1863 and was 1,100ft (330m) long.

*It was damaged by ships on several occasions and in January 1940 a Dutch vessel, Nora, disabled by a mine, demolished the pier.*The Nora had been beached at the south of the pier. The rising tide lifted her clear of the beach and she smashed repeatedly against the pier's superstructure until it was broken in two. Winston Churchill then ordered the army to demolish the remainder of the pier, leaving only the shoreward tollbooth in place

*In 1954 the toll booths were removed and construction of the present pier began. Designed by Sir W. Halcrow & Partners it is built entirely of reinforced concrete.*The pier was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh on November 19, 1957. It is 1,026ft (311m) long and ends at a three-tiered pier head containing bar, café and lounge, the area to be redeveloped.

*The lower pier head is permanently submerged by the sea. Nobody knows if this was intended or a mis-calculation.

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