IT’S a huge part of Southend’s heritage and identity but it’s fair to say that the pier has had more comebacks than Frank Sinatra.

Exactly 50 years ago the future of the pier was hanging in the balance - and not for the first time.

Four-year-old Cheryl Byfield, from Rayleigh, had almost died after plunging through rotting planks after jumping off a bench onto the pier deck.

A rotten plank sea-sawed and tiny Cheryl fell through the gap and plunged 30ft into the water below.

Fortunately the tide was just deep enough to carry her to a stanchion and she clung on for dear life.

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She was plucked out of the sea by family members and taken to hospital for shock.

The drama made the front page of the Daily Mirror and an investigation into the accident was called for. The report uncovered a number of serious structural failings on the historic structure. Several councillors and community leaders demanded action.

Labour councillor Motel Burstin personally examined the pier after complaints from people “Something must be done urgently - it is a matter of safety,” he said. Marathon charity walker, Ken Wood, also called for action after he walked the end of the pier and said he had to ‘zig zag’ to avoid dangerous and loose planks.

“What would happen if vandals tool up the boards and threw them into the sea?” added Cllr Burstin. Southend Council decided to employ three carpenters to check the pier decking boards regularly by walking the pier twice a day in all weathers.

But a row was soon to blow up at the council with the town’s Young Liberals calling for the pedestrian walkway to be shut down completely.

They were even considering a sit in protest at the pier entrance to warn visitors of the dangers.

A bad fire in 1976 then caused even more damage to the pier and and for several years the future of the giant attraction was in jeopardy as the council debated over whether to invest money into improvements or to close it for good.

A number of suggestions were put on the table, including attracting tourists by turning back the clock and restoring the pier to its original Victorian style to become part of a new £2million seaside marina.

But the 1971 accident was not the only accident to have plagued the 1.34 mile structure since it was built in 1830.

One of the most tragic occurred in 1887 when a mother and daughter, who were day-tripping in Southend, were involved in an accident with a tramcar on the pier.

Mrs Little and her daughter Mary Ann, from Enfield, were walking along the pier when they heard a tramcar coming behind them.

Becoming confused they got on the wrong side of the line and Mrs Little was crushed to death between the pier and the side of the tramcar.

The little girl received such horrendous injuries that she was rushed to a hospital in London.

In 1898, three men were left with serious injuries after some scaffolding fell on top of a party of workmen renovating the inside of the pier pavilion.

Of course the pier managed to fight off its shaky period of the seventies. It has since survived fires, boat crashes and economic depressions.

Sometimes, however, it seems the pier just couldn’t get away from negative headlines.

At the same time as the plank saga was taking place 50 years ago in 1971 two holidaying New Zealanders made the Echo after being told they weren’t smart enough to enter one of the bars and restaurants at the end of the pier.

Although Brian Willis, aged 24, a solicitor from Wellington was smartly dressed he wasn’t wearing a jacket and tie and so he and his wife Wendy were refused entry by the doorman to the Golden Horseshoe Bar.

The reeling couple, who were staying with friends in Basildon, had made the trip to Southend especially to go for a pint in the Golden Horseshoe.