SUSSEX'S tallest tourist attraction took its first breath this week.

The ‘breathing’ lighting on British Airways i360 was switched on for the first time on Thursday bringing the final touch to the 162 metre Brighton beach attraction.

The lighting is concentrated at the top of the tower, fading as it descends to the level of other buildings, and which can be programmed to display a range of options for matching colours and patterns in support of important city and global events, starting with Pride this weekend.

The attraction's pod lights switch on at sunset and off at midnight every night, while the aeronautical safety lighting will remain switched on at all times.

David Marks of Marks Barfield Architects, which conceived and designed British Airways i360, said: “The concept for the lighting at the top of the tower is that it breathes, gently increasing and decreasing in intensity at the average rate of a human being breathing at rest.”