Image obtained by Portal agency via social networks showing Banksy's work stolen in London on Friday.JOE BROWN (JOE BROWN via Portal)
London Metropolitan Police have arrested a man allegedly responsible for stealing a stop sign displaying a work by city artist Banksy on Friday, even as authorities agreed to post a notice without drawings in the area to avoid possible distribution to prevent problems.
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The robbery occurred in the Peckham area shortly after Banksy confirmed its authenticity in a social media post. His supporters interpreted the work, limited to three unmanned aircraft, as a call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The man arrested is now charged with robbery and criminal damage and remains in custody, according to police, public radio and BBC television report.
It's not the first time something like this has happened to a street artist's work. On Valentine's Day this year, a 3.8 tonne mural entitled 'Valentine's Day Mascara' appeared on the side of a house in Margate, Kent, only to be removed hours later after Banksy shared a series of photos of it online.
The mural depicted a 1950s housewife dressed in an apron and yellow dish gloves, with a swollen eye and a missing tooth, throwing a man into a freezer. In September, the mural was placed in the foyer of The Art Of Banksy exhibition on Regent Street in central London, where it is currently free to view.
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