The team behind the London Eye has unveiled plans to transform Brighton's skyline with the loftiest building in Sussex.

Soaring above any other building on the seafront, the 600ft tower is expected to attract more than 500,000 visitors a year.

It would also give Brighton a prestige structure to rival the Eiffel Tower.

Visitors would be able to see 50 miles from the £20 million observation platform at the land end of the derelict West Pier.

The tower would be almost twice as tall as the current highest building in Brighton, Sussex Heights, but would have less visual impact because it would be just four metres wide.

Architects David Marks and Julia Barfield call the proposed tower the i360 but it is likely locals will nickname it the Brighton Eye A pod carrying up to 100 people will rise silently up the tower every 20 or 30 minutes to provide amazing views. Visitors who pay about £8 a head will be able to see Sussex all the way from Beachy Head in the east and, in the west, past Hampshire to the Isle of Wight.

They will have panoramic views of Brighton and Hove and the tower will be tall enough to give extensive northbound vistas of the South Downs.

The slim tower is being backed by theBrighton West Pier Trust which owns the 140-year-old pier. Part of the proceeds from the venture will be used to tidy up the derelict pier, wrecked by collapses and two arson attacks.

The trust is also in discussions with potential private sector partners about restoring the rest of the pier south of the promenade. But the local company involved wants to see what happens to the observation tower. The trust will also have to win a public inquiry held last month into a proposed harbour revision order needed for any future development. It is being opposed by the owners of the Palace Pier.

The new scheme, to be unveiled tonight to trust members at their annual meeting, is the first move to save the pier in two years.

A previous plan with developers St Modwen as partners won permission from Brighton and Hove City Council despite strong opposition from neighbours and conservationists.

But English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund withdrew their backing and the scheme collapsed.

Trust chief executive Dr Geoff Lockwood said: "The heritage authorities have given up on the West Pier. We have not.

"The new feature is in the tradition and spirit of the pier. It is a 2006 equivalent of the original 1866 design."

Dr Lockwood said the original pier enabled people to walk over the water. Now they would be able to rise into the air.