A giant ferris wheel dubbed the London Eye of the south coast could be coming to Herne Bay seafront.

The 170ft-high Brighton Wheel is set to close this year when a rival viewing tower opens in the East Sussex city.

Now town centre councillor Andrew Cook (Con) has approached attraction organisers about bringing the wheel to the Bay.

He said: “When I spoke to them they were still working out what they were doing with it – I said we would be very interested in discussing it further with them.

“I did come off the telephone to them afterwards thinking where would we put it, but I thought it would be nice to be considered.

“All we have done is contacted them with the knowledge that they are having to move and if we could be considered we would love to talk further.”

The Brighton Wheel opened in 2011, costing £6million, and is expected to close in May when the new i360 viewing tower opens in the city.

Cllr Cook said he thinks the attraction could visit the town on a temporary basis before moving on.

He said: “It would be an attraction for the town.

“I think a touring visit of it would be more advantageous than a permanent one.

“It would be an injection in the arm coming for four or five weeks.

“It would really bring a lot of people in for that because they have one chance to be there to see it.”

“We have a fantastic road structure in Herne Bay and we could afford to lose a bit of road here and there..." - Cllr Andrew Cook

Cllr Cook said the wheel could be installed in the road in Central Parade, to the left-hand-side of the pier.

He added: “It could go where the fairground has gone before.

“We have a fantastic road structure in Herne Bay and we could afford to lose a bit of road here and there.

“It could possibly go in the Memorial Park, but the seafront is better, that’s the commercial area, and we can’t stick it in the middle of the town centre.”

Cllr Cook also revealed that an old-fashioned carousel with traditional horses will be put on Herne Bay pier in Easter.

The galloper attraction will sit on the middle of the landmark and could move to the site’s entrance at a later date.