Pictured: Iconic Weston-super-Mare pier reopens for business, just three days after blaze destroys pavilion

Five days ago, it was teeming with holidaymakers enjoying a traditional British day out at the seaside. Then the fire began.

It is thought to have broken out in a deep-fat fryer in the staff canteen on Monday morning.

Wreck: This tangled mess of metal is all that is left of Weston-super-Mare's Grand Pier

Within minutes, the entire wooden pavilion at the end of the mile-and-a-quarter pier was ablaze, sending up a plume of smoke that could be seen from Cardiff, 60 miles away.

An hour-and-a-half later, the fine Edwardian landmark that graced the Somerset seaside town for 104 years was a smoking ruin.

Gone are the rollercoaster, the ghost train, the bowling alley, the dodgems, the rows of slot machines and the restaurants. Gone also are the fine art deco pavilions and towers built following the pier's first disastrous fire in 1930.

All that is left is a formidable challenge for owners Kerry and Michelle Michael. The brother and sister partnership bought Grand Pier for £10million earlier this year and had already invested heavily in new attractions and renovations.

Grand Pier owners Kerry Michael (right), with his sister Michelle (centre), and bank manager Martin Fey survey the wreckage after Monday's fire

Mr Michael, 49, said: 'We will work tirelessly to restore this magnificent structure to its former glory.'

The pier is a Grade II listed building, and one of only 55 that remain around the country.

And, while there is sure to be a large insurance payout, the cost of restoration is forbidding – with one estimate last night putting it at between £18million and £25million.

Visitors to the pier are able to walk within metres of the burnt out pavillion

Yesterday the remains of the pier reopened to the public as Mr Michael confirmed that 'arson had been ruled out' as the cause of the blaze.

Most of the main walkway is now open to the public with visitors able to walk within feet of the burnt pavilion.

The landward end of the attraction - which includes six gift and confectionery shops - is also fully operational.

After taking a walk round the twisted mass of steel which was once the pier's pavilion, Mr Michael said 'without the pier open, Weston is not open'.

He said: 'It will be operating as normal other than the pavilion. The public will be able to come within 20 feet and see the devastation.'

The devastating blaze has all but destroyed the pavilion while the rest of the pier reopened to the public

'They've ruled out arson and they've also ruled out deep-fat fryers. In fact, the experts don't think it started in the restaurants.

'It means everything to see the pier open. Anything is better than nothing.

'The staff have been excellent, they obviously feel the same as we do. They've been great,' Mr Michael said.

He added that they hope to get plans for re-building the pier moving as soon as possible.

While it would only take a year to rebuild the pavilion, Mr Michael said the process would be lengthened by public consultation.

As it was: The pier's owners hope to restore the iconic attraction to its former glory

The Grand Pier Gift Shop, the Boardwalk Cafe and the Shoreside Snack Bar were all open yesterday.

Fiona Hooper, 45, from Bleadon, Somerset, who normally works in the marketing department which was based in the destroyed pavilion, will be helping out in the shops instead.

She said: 'We're really happy to be open so soon. It was so sad to see the fire.

'I didn't think it would be opened up so quickly. I do think it's going to be really busy today.'

Investigators will continue to examine the skeleton of the far end of the pier for a possible cause of the blaze.

Yesterday it was revealed 370 arcade machines - along with an unknown amount of coins inside them - had melted in the fire.

The 1,000C (1,832F) blaze destroyed the amusement arcades on the platform.

The fire service warned budding treasure hunters that no cash, machines or safes had fallen into the sea or on the beach.

Station manager Malcolm Jenkins said people were being kept away from the pier site by a 330 yard exclusion zone patrolled by police and private security guards.

More than 30 firefighters took 90 minutes to extinguish the blaze

Smoke from the 1,000C (1,832F) fire could be seen from up to 50 miles away