An art project allowing thousands of people to take centre stage in Trafalgar Square overcame a wobbly start after a protester invaded the fourth plinth.

Stuart Holmes, from Withington, Manchester, clambered on to the platform to demonstrate against smoking minutes before it was officially opened.

He was removed by JCB at 9am, allowing the first official "living sculptures" to each enjoy an hour of fame.

The artwork, by Antony Gormley, will see 2,400 people occupy the plinth for an hour each, 24 hours a day, for 100 days.

Housewife Rachel Wardell, 35, from Sleaford, Lincolnshire, was first to enter the spotlight, with a huge green "lollipop", publicising children's charities ChildLine and the NSPCC.

Next participant in the artwork, entitled One & Other, was Jason Clark, 41, an NHS nurse from Brighton, who mostly stood still for his hour, occasionally waving at the crowd and taking photographs as he wanted to represent an ordinary British man.

He said: "I'd definitely recommend it. It's a very good experience to be up there, with a lot of freedom to do what you want."

IT consultant Jill Gatcum, 51, from London, then braved torrential rain to inflate and release 61 green helium balloons from the plinth, each one sponsored by friends and family for a different charity.

She was followed by Christine Sharman, 54, an adult education worker from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, who took a laptop computer, a placard with a picture of a hen and a hawk and an animated flick-book containing a story about the two birds as symbols of current technology and creativity.

Scott Illman, 34, a bar owner from Hammersmith, London, dressed as a town cryer and spent his hour on the plinth promoting his businesses, while Steve Pratt, 54, a journalist from Holloway, London, used his time to write messages on a blackboard.

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