Bognor Regis beach webcam which has fans around the world needs upgrading

Colin Clark has set up a crowfunding page to try and raise the funds to replace the webcam he installed on the pier back in 2013 with a more up-to-date model.

The 56-year-old website designer first came up with the idea of the webcam because he was fed up of the negativity surrounding the town.

“Bognor has had really bad press over the years,” he said. “I’ve always thought Bognor deserves a better reputation than it’s had.

“I thought, wouldn’t it be great to show the world what Bognor Regis beach is really like?”

The webcam, which shows the east end of the beach, streams a view 24 hours a day, 365 days a year – with sound included too – from his website www.bognorregisbeach.co.uk

In the last seven years, the webcam had been viewed 16 million times from 84 different countries.

“It’s become very popular across the whole world,” Mr Clark said.

“I’ve had so many emails over the years thanking me for it being up there, people saying they like to have it on in the background to see the seagulls and hear the waves crashing on the shore.”

He said it was popular among locals, who used it to check what the weather was like, or to see whether the tide was in or out, as well as people who used to live in Bognor but had emigrated to other places.

There was always ‘a lot of interest’ during storms – particularly during the recent incidents of Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis.

Mr Clark, who has lived in the town for most of his life – bar the two-and-a-half years he spent living in Zimbabwe after his parents moved there, has convinced it has had an impact on the town.

“I know that there are people who have looked at the webcam who hadn’t thought about visiting Bognor before, but after seeing it have visited,” he said.

The webcam even had a starring role in the storyline of BBC Two’s comedy Don’t Forget The Driver, which starred Toby Jones.

It is also a useful resource for the coastguard and police.

Mr Clark said he had had a few phonecalls from police over the years requesting to see footage from the last 24 hours – which is how long it is stored for.

A second camera was put in place last year which shows the west side of the beach.

This camera is available to view at Mr Clark’s other website, www.bognor.today, which provides details of events in the town.

Mr Clark said having two cameras made Bognor ‘unique’ and meant people could watch both the sunrise and sunset.

He is now hoping to raise £3,000 in order to replace the original webcam and also hopes to install infrared lights, so that the beach would be visible on camera at night.

See the crowdfunding page here.

SEE MORE: Coronavirus: Dame Vera Lynn reassures community in ‘uncertain times’