Tributes pour in for Blackpool Pier owner's daughter Gayna Sedgwick who 'was lovely inside and out'

The community was deeply saddened to hear Gayna Sedgwick, whose family own the resort's three piers, had died and paid their tributes to a 'kind hearted and hard working' woman on social media.

Gayna was the eldest daughter of Peter Sedgwick, who bought North Pier in 2011 and Central and South Piers in 2015 but was a successful businesswoman in her own right, having bought the glass-topped Pyramid building on the Golden Mile in 2020.

Joanne Stretton posted on The Gazette's Facebook page: "I am really shocked and saddened to see this. I spent time in hospital with Gayna last year. We had a right good laugh considering we were both poorly."

And Sally Sheering said: "She gave my boys their first jobs and taught them work ethics. The boys all bonded through “the chippy.""

Anne Foden added: "I remember you Gayna when you were young, lovely inside and out xxxx." She had already traded with the Fish Factory chip shop and other linked businesses on the Golden Mile for the previous seven years but always wanted to own the site.

The entertainment venue, opposite Central Pier, also includes the Number 13 Bonny Street pub, formerly the Pump and Truncheon, a photo studio, ice cream stand and a shopping court.

Gayna, who had worked in hospitality from the age of nine, was always a strong supporter of Blackpool, and at the time of the purchase, she said was "proud to own a chunk of Blackpool’s Golden Mile".

Here are some of the other many tributes left on The Gazette's Facebook page:

Lucia Frankill: "So so Heartbreaking it really is , fabulous business woman and a very kind hearted woman whom I am pleased to have called my friend. RIP Gayna I will miss you." Anthony Mark Constalntine: "RIP Gayna, for a short while Gaynor looked after me in a children’s home many years ago , she helped me with a job on the pier and always had us out doing activities . What a hard worker she was."

Bernie Hunter: "Best business woman in Blackpool full of love will be missed."

Ellis Morgan: "R.I.P Gayna, great boss and a even better woman, much love"