A year ago it was the talk of the town: The Priz had burned down.

Folkestone residents were waking to the news the beloved seafront nightclub had been set on fire.

Social media went into a frenzy the night before (Tuesday, March 8) when news broke at around 9pm the building was on fire.

Onyx, as it was officially called but more affectionately known as The Priz, was already being demolished and had already closed a few months before.

But the shockwaves were still felt throughout the town.

For decades it had been the venue generations of Folkestonians ended up in at the end of their night out.

The club saw marriage proposals accepted, the start of relationships as well as break-ups and plenty of fights.

Firefighters spent 12 hours tackling the blaze in the roof and remained at the scene the following morning - a year ago today - to damp down.

The following day, police said they had launched an investigation to track down two young men in hoodies seen in the area before the fire started.

Officers said they were treating the blaze as suspicious and issued an appeal to find the suspects - two white men, around 5ft 10ins tall, aged around 18 and wearing dark hoodies.

But exactly a year on, were the culprits ever caught?

Police spokesman Nicola Forman said today: "No arrests have been made in connection with this incident.

"Officers carried out various lines of inquiries including viewing CCTV and issuing a witness appeal but no suspects were identified.

"If anyone does have any information and hasn’t already spoken to officers call the appeal line on 01843 222289."

Demolition began in late February and restarted a couple of weeks after the fire.

Bosses at the Folkestone Harbour Company (FHC) checked to see if the fire would hold up progress but said they wanted to get on with knocking it down soon after the club closed, in October 2015, over fears it would be targeted.

Only the metal awning frame of the building remained in front of a pile of rubble and bricks by mid-April.

Grieving revellers left floral tributes to the “sticky floors” and the “second home and last resort” to Folkestonians when the building was being knocked down the week before the fire.

Historic England rejected a bid to save the building after an application to list it was submitted in November 2015.

The decision gave Folkestone Harbour Company the go-ahead to knock down the 1920s Marine Pavilion.

The Marine Pavilion was the last remaining feature from the old Rotunda seafront entertainments - featuring rides, arcades and mini golf.

Bulldozers rolled on to the site in the early 2000s.

The landmark dome was crushed in December 2002 before Jimmy Godden sold the land in 2007.

But the pavilion – which was already a nightclub by that point – remained.

It hosted variety shows, plays, dancing and roller skating before its various incarnations as a nightclub – most recently the Onyx but formerly La Parisienne, giving it the affectionate nickname ‘The Priz’.

The venue formed part of the hugely popular seafront attractions during Folkestone’s heyday between the two world wars, and remained popular for decades later.

Now, the site is completely cleared and levelled.

Just last week more diggers moved on to the beach where the Priz once stood all along the former Rotunda.

Dredging work in the harbour is taking place with the residual silt and mud piling up on the beach to raise the level to help protect against flooding when 1,000 homes, shops, restaurants and tourist attractions are built.

Folkestone Harbour Company (FHC) owns the seafront site which spreads from the harbour arm, the former railway line up to the end of Tram Road and along to the end of the Rotunda.

The company announced last month work was starting with 500 construction jobs coming to the area.

The first part of the project will involve constructing sea defences with dredging taking place in the outer harbour to allow groundwork for building to begin.