THE world's first tilting bridge is being showcased in an exhibition of the best of British design.

Gateshead's Millennium Bridge across the River Tyne has been chosen by the Design Council as one of the top 100 innovative designs in its Great Expectations show.

The show will open in New York's Grand Central Terminal in October, where it will be seen by 50,000 people each day.

The biggest event of its kind ever staged in New York, it aims to blow away old-fashioned stereotypes of British design and will include other design icons such as the London Eye.

The exhibition will then tour other cities in America and Canada, as well as the Far East.

The "blinking eye" bridge, which will open to the public on September 17, was designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and engineers Gifford and Partners.

Councillor George Gill, the leader of Gateshead Borough Council, said: "Local people have already taken the bridge to their hearts as a symbol of the renaissance in the arts and culture in Gateshead and Newcastle, but we are flattered that people around the world are so interested in what we have done."

Martin Brown, of the Design Council, said: "The Gateshead Millennium Bridge has provided an elegant new crossing over a river famous for its bridges.

"The design represents an outstanding comment on the continuing engineering prow-ess in the North-East."