THE i360 has lost its Guinness World Record title - to a fairground ride in Texas which opened up three years earlier.

The £46 million attraction on Brighton’s seafront was named the world’s most slender tower in February 2016 and has been proudly displaying its Guinness World Record certificate.

But it will have to come down now after a even skinnier tower, called the Top o’ Texas Tower in Dallas, was brought to the attention of judges.

Bosses at the i360 described the loss of the title as a “shame” but gamely offered their congratulations to their US counterparts who took their crown.

The Top o’ Texas Tower is a 500-foot-tall adrenaline rush which takes four-and-a-half minutes compared to 20 minutes for the i360.

Work on the $12 million tower began in summer 2011 and it opened in 2013.

The Fair Park ride can hold up to 100 people per cycle, half the capacity of the i360, and can complete up to 13 rides per hour.

The cabin of the Texas tower travels vertically at a speed of 6.5 feet per second and rotates one foot per second.

The i360’s time as a world record holder has been shortlived lasting just more than a year.

It has a slender ratio of 41.15 to 1, at 160.469 metres above ground with a diameter of 3.9 metres.

At the time of its award the i360’s chief engineer John Roberts said the tower’s accolade was down to its groundbreaking engineering which gave it a far more striking height to width aspect ratio than other tall buildings such as The Shard’s six to one or BT Tower’s eight to one.

But it cannot compete with its counterpart across the Atlantic, at the State Fair of Texas, which has a slenderness ratio of 47.61.

Fortunately the i360 still retains its title as the world’s highest moving observation tower with a 30ft advantage over its Texan rival.

Steve Bax, British Airways i360 executive director, said: “It’s a shame that we no longer hold the world record but we’re thrilled that British Airways i360 has been recognised with seven other awards this year including a prestigious RIBA National Award.

“Our congratulations to Top o’ Texas tower on their Guinness World Record.”

The i360 was handed the RIBA award, one of the leading architectural prizes in the country, last month.

It was one of only 49 new buildings in the UK to be recognised.

The jury praised the i360, saying that it was “impressed by the extraordinary innovation and originality demonstrated by this scheme and the heroic collaboration between architect and engineer”.

A Guinness World Records spokeswoman said: “At Guinness World Records we always are excited to hear information about record breaking feats from all around the world.

“The tower in Texas was only brought to our attention after the record was approved for the i360 and was approved in January – it has been back dated to when the tower was completed back in 2013.”