By Iwan Stone and Rory Tingle, Interior Correspondent and Dan Sales, December 22, 2023, 10:56 p.m., updated December 22, 2023, 10:59 p.m
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The Met Police will launch an investigation into a brand new £250,000 Banksy that was apparently stolen from a street in south London today – after a local council leader lodged an official report.
The deputy leader of Southwark Council said the local community wanted the artwork back after it was chopped up less than an hour after it was found to be real.
Earlier today, police ruled out an investigation into the incident as they awaited a formal report of crime from the property's owner – but are now expected to investigate following an official request.
The stop sign – next to the graffiti depicting three military drones – was hacked up with bolt cutters by a man on a Lime bike and taken away in front of a crowd of outraged onlookers.
Labor councilor Jasmine Ali said: “Of course Banksy chose Peckham, it is already well known when it comes to art and a hotbed of creativity.”
A man was seen removing the sign with bolt cutters while balancing on an e-bike so he could reach it. The driver of the e-bike was a bystander and did not commit the theft. The extraordinary scenes occurred at the junction of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham at around 12.30pm. The man, wearing a red jacket and apparently wearing work clothes, pulls down the sign before running away with it. The man in the red jacket flees with the sign from stunned crowds that had gathered to view it. Southwark Council deputy leader Jasmine Ali (pictured) said the local community wanted the artwork back after it was chopped off with bolt cutters less than an hour after it was revealed to be real
“It should not have been removed and we would like to have it back so everyone in the community can enjoy Banksy’s brilliant work.”
“We reported the removal of our sign to the police to help return it.”
Pieces by the rogue artist have sold for millions of pounds – and experts are already speculating they could fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds amid speculation they may have been used for a quick profit.
Shortly after midday, Banksy confirmed in an Instagram post that the artwork – a traffic stop sign covered in three military drones – was his.
The revelation led to a crowd of locals entering the site and taking photos of the installation on their cell phones.
But at around 12.30pm the peaceful scene was shattered by the arrival of two men, one balancing precariously on a Lime e-bike as he hurriedly hacked into the sign with bolt cutters.
This came after a Peckham councilor criticized the Met for not taking action sooner against Banksy and the alleged thief. He said defacing and removing a stop sign could pose a risk to public safety and have “deadly consequences.”
The sign has since been replaced and the Met says it is aware of the incident.
The artist confirmed that the piece – a traffic stop sign covered in three military drones – was his on Instagram just after noon today. Banksy has not yet commented on the drama, but was warned by a social media user: “The sign is being taken.” Southwark Council, the local authority responsible for services in the area – including road signage – responded did not respond to a request for comment on Commercial Street in Peckham today after the sign disappeared. Peckham councilor Barrie Hargrove (pictured) criticized the Met for failing to take previous action against Banksy and the alleged thief – as he says defacing and removing a stop sign could pose a risk to public safety with 'deadly consequences' could have.
Labour's Barrie Hargrove said: “I'm not a philistine, but what really, really concerns me more is that a stop sign has been vandalized.”
READ MORE – Why the art world still insists on faking Banksy’s true identity is a big mystery
“A stop sign that I assume gives traffic directions – and it worries me that the police don't seem to think anything of it.”
“Of course a Banksy artwork is a very valuable thing, but it seems to me more like a case of roadside vandalism.” It could have fatal consequences.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to destroy public spaces, especially the highway, where that could have fatal consequences.”
Asked whether the council should make a formal complaint, he replied: “Yes, I would prefer that.” As a councillor, I am concerned about the safety of local people that may be caused by a sign being removed to make the road safe.”
Ian Syer, co-founder of MyArtBroker, told Web: “Banksy street installations are usually difficult to sell as entire building walls usually have to be removed.”
“But these guys had it gone in minutes, but they would be lucky to get £250,000 for it if a buyer ever came forward.
“However, we believe that these assets should never be sold and that they should be preserved and used by the public, not stolen for a quick profit.”
The e-bike's rider, who only wanted to be called Alex, said he “watched in awe” as the man hit the sign with his hands while balancing on the saddle.
The man in the red jacket climbs the pole to reach the sign – Banksy's latest work. The sign is chopped up with bolt cutters as onlookers filmed the scene on their cell phones. Banksy's artwork has previously fetched millions of pounds at auction
The man who removed the sign and was wearing a red jacket fled after just 60 seconds after onlookers shouted at him to stop. He left the bolt cutters behind.
The extraordinary scenes occurred at the junction of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, near a zebra crossing.
Banksy's works have previously sold at auction for millions of pounds. The men's identities are not known and it is still unclear who exactly was behind the removal and whether it was a trick. However, it has been claimed that Banksy was not involved.
Peckham: Where is it and how many crimes take place there each month?
Peckham is located in the London borough of Southwark in southeast London. It became famous through the comedy series “Only Fools and Horses”.
Earlier this year the area made headlines when the owner of a local shop, Peckham Hair and Cosmetics, was seen seemingly putting his hands around a black woman's throat.
Sohail Sindho has always denied that he choked her and claimed he tried to restrain her after a row over a £7.99 refund for three wigs.
The video sparked a series of protests over the past four weeks that led to the store closing and the retailer going into hiding.
In October the Met recorded 38 violent and sexual offenses in Peckham, as well as 34 incidents of anti-social behavior and 7 reports of criminal damage and arson.
In Southwark as a whole there were 130 crimes per 1,000 residents, which is around average for inner London.
The piece has already been valued at £250,000 by art experts – although they added that they believe the works should be left to the public.
Ed Damon said he saw Banksy setting up the artwork at 7am yesterday – and later witnessed the theft.
The 45-year-old was out and about early in the morning when he saw a man in his 40s with gray hair standing on a staircase by a lamp post on Commercial Way.
He told Web: “I thought it was a bit strange but the guy didn't hang around.” He had to climb a few steps and once they were up he just ran across the street. I didn't see where he went. There were a few cars around, but not many other people
“I took a photo to show my friends and thought nothing of it. Only today I heard that it was a Banksy, and that man must have been Banksy.
Mr Damon, a civil servant, was returning to his home in Peckham this afternoon when he saw a crowd of people standing next to the sign.
He said, “This guy just cut it down and ran away.” Nobody tried to stop him.
“I don’t think anyone knew it was a Banksy until he posted it on his social media and made it official.”
“It’s a little surreal to see it go up and then go back down.”
Alex, 26, said he rode an e-bike to the sign after hearing about it on social media.
He said: “I opened Instagram and saw it was posted four minutes ago and I was just about to go on my lunch break. “When I got there there were about two people there. We all admired it and took photos.
“This guy comes and grabs it, we watched in awe as he smashed it.” He put the Lime bike under the sign, stood on the Lime bike and tried to hit the sign, he hit it the hands against it and it didn't go anywhere.
“At some point he fell off the Lime bike. He disappeared and walked away and about two minutes later he reappeared with bolt cutters and tried and tried and tried while everyone watched.
“We said, 'What are you doing?'” But no one really knew what to do, we just watched it happen. We were all a bit confused; There were a few car horns.
“He ripped it off, ran across the street and ran away.” He didn't say anything. Art itself didn't seem to be that important to him.
“There was someone else there, but I don’t know if they were together.”
The artwork was left at the junction of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, south London. At some point, the man slid down the pole after apparently losing his footing. People remove a Banksy artwork. The man runs away with the sign. Web has contacted the Met for comment. He left the pair of bolt cutters behind
“I went there and thought that people want this, I wanted to see it before something happened to him.” Before it was taken, someone else said, “Should we take it?”
Banksy has yet to comment on the drama, but was warned by one social media user: “The sign will be taken immediately.”
The drones in the piece were similar to those in another artwork, Civilian Drone Strike, which shows them destroying a house as a little girl and her dog look on in horror.
It was sold for £200,000 to raise money for a London arms fair.
READ MORE – The time Banksy almost dropped his mask: A mysterious street artist reveals his real first name in an astonishing, unearthed radio interview from 20 years ago
A witness said onlookers began screaming as a man tried to remove a Banksy installation in south London.
They said, “He came up the first time, that guy, and tried to climb the sign and then couldn't manage, just knocking it, the sign, off its hinges with his hand.”
“So he walked away and then came back with bolt cutters and climbed on the bike.”
“It fell down the first time. Then his buddy stabilized the bike and then climbed back up, ripped the sign off its hinges and then ran away.'
He added: “As soon as it (the artwork) went online, a few people cycled over there to look at it and just stayed there.
“As he started to rip it off, a few people shouted at him to stop but he just kept going and that's when he realized he couldn't get it off with his hands alone and had to get some bolt cutters.”
A second witness who saw the removal of a Banksy artwork in south London said it “surprised” him and that it “would have been nice if it had stayed there for a while”.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I was crossing the street and someone said 'Look' and told me what was going on.” There were four or five of us taking pictures of this guy on the bike, this man wanted to grab the sign.
The work was installed at the junction of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham, south London, near a zebra crossing. A selection of photos of the artwork were uploaded to the artist's Instagram page without any caption or explanation. The drones are similar to those in another artwork, Civilian Drone Strike, which shows them destroying a house as a little girl and her dog look on in horror
“At one point he went away and came back with a tool, and then he finished the job and walked away.” Apparently the tool stayed there, he left it on the wall.
“I was surprised to see it, I took a photo of the sign but I didn’t want to take a photo of the guy.”
“It's strange, these works of art are beautiful, it would be nice if they had stayed there for a while.”
This is not the first time that Banksy's artwork has been removed shortly after it was created.
A 3.8 tonne mural called Valentine's Day Mascara appeared on the side of a house in Margate, Kent, on Valentine's Day this year, and was taken down hours after Banksy posted a series of photos of it online.
The mural depicted a 1950s housewife with a swollen eye and missing tooth, wearing an apron and yellow dishwashing gloves, throwing a man into a freezer.
At the time, the resident of the property where the painting was created, who did not want to be named, said the freezer and other items, including a broken lawn chair used for the artwork, were removed “very quickly” and loaded into a truck be.
In September, the mural was placed in the foyer of The Art of Banksy exhibition on Regent Street in central London, where it can be viewed free of charge.
This is not the first time that Banksy's artwork has been removed shortly after it was created. On Valentine's Day this year, a 3.8 tonne mural called 'Valentine's Day Mascara' appeared on the side of a house in Margate, Kent, and was dismantled by the local council. Banksy is known for his political artworks, which often deal with geopolitical issues. A man on a bike takes a photo of the artwork at the junction of Southampton Way and Commercial Way in Peckham
Featuring works such as Girl With Balloon, Flower Thrower and Rude Copper, the exhibition also focuses on Banksy's Dismaland, The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and recent works that acknowledge the ongoing war in Ukraine.
READ MORE – Full list of Banksy's most famous artworks – worth over £88m
Also this year, a limited edition exhibition showcasing 25 years of Banksy's stencil graffiti opened at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Glasgow.
Cut & Run included authentic artifacts, ephemera and the artist's toilet, as well as a model that explained how the artist shredded Girl With Balloon during an auction at Sotheby's in London in 2018.
In August, cutandrun.co.uk said that organizers now “want to take this show on tour but have no idea where to go next”.
The artist often references contemporary themes and in 2020 incorporated messages about the coronavirus pandemic into his work.
Transport for London (TfL) removed spray paint from a London Underground carriage due to its so-called “strict anti-graffiti policy”.
Last month it emerged that a £1 million mural by Banksy criticizing Brexit was partially destroyed after the local council demolished the building it stood on to make way for a new £25 million redevelopment project close.
The mural appeared on the side of a building in Dover, Kent, in May 2017 – a year after Britain narrowly voted to leave the European Union in a referendum.
It remains to be seen what will be done to ensure Banksy's latest artwork is not removed. It is likely that the piece will attract a significant crowd now that its location is revealed. A man jogs past the new artwork in Peckham today
The farewell was symbolized by the image of a worker on a ladder chipping away at one of the stars on the EU flag.
READ MORE – Banksy 'buys £1m pub' in Glastonbury Festival village where regulars claim to have seen the elusive graffiti artist playing rugby
Dover District Council (DDC) razed the building for a redevelopment project that included a cultural, education and business incubation centre, sparking fears for the future of the artwork.
But DDC boss Councilor Kevin Mills said parts of the work, which was mysteriously whitewashed overnight in 2019, had been saved.
Councilor Mills said the image of the man on a ladder and the yellow stars he was working on were saved, but not the wider blue background.
He claimed the difficulty was that the image was on the plaster of the building, which was demolished by DDS Demolition.
DDS Demolition told Web the building was unsafe and needed to be demolished, but insisted it would be carefully demolished and not demolished.
Banksy, whose career began in the 1990s, is known to millions of people through the appearance of dozens of iconic works of art in unexpected places around the world, many of which later sold for millions.
His identity has been a hot topic for years, with names like Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack and Jamie Hewlett, founder of Gorillaz, being bandied about.
Also suggested is private school student Robin Gunningham, who was “exposed” as Banksy by the Mail On Sunday in 2008 following an investigation into his past.
Regardless of who owns it, Banksy's works are a sought-after item on the art market.
In 2021, his work Love is in the Bin was bought for more than £18 million, with its value increased after a paper shredder hidden in its frame cut it into pieces shortly after its first sale in 2018.
Last month it emerged that a £1 million Banksy mural criticizing Brexit was partially destroyed after the local council demolished the building on which it stood to make way for a new redevelopment project worth £1 million To make £25 million. The location of the building where Banksy's Brexit mural was painted. Banksy's identity is one of the world's best-kept secrets, but that hasn't stopped people from speculating. In 2007, the Mail on Sunday published an investigation suggesting that Banksy was former public school student Robin Gunningham (above).
The work, previously known as Girl with a Balloon, was just one of more than a dozen of Banksy's creations to sell for more than £2 million.
Banksy uses art as a form of activism and regularly makes social and political statements with her works.
READ MORE – Homeowners spend £200,000 removing Banksy's seagull mural after home becomes target of thieves, vandals and council officers
The artist was born just outside Bristol in 1973 and was a talented illustrator who drew cartoons.
After spreading his trademark throughout Bristol, Banksy evolved over time and began creating more sophisticated pieces, always keeping his identity hidden.
One of Banksy's earliest works is The Mild Mild West.
The large mural was painted at Stokes Croft in Bristol in 1999 and shows a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police.
It was painted by the artist over three days in broad daylight and is still in the city today, alongside several of Banksy's other works.
The extensive MoS investigation into Banksy's identity has heard from dozens of friends, former colleagues, enemies, flatmates and even family members.
The search began with an image of a man in Jamaica working with his stencils and cans of spray paint.
Although Banksy denied the image was of him, the Mail's investigation was later supported by researchers at Queen Mary University.
“Love is in the Bin,” a Banksy artwork that was half-tattered at auction in 2018, sold in 2021 for £18.6 million – four times its estimate. Above are prints of three of Banksy's works at Sotheby's in February last year. In the middle you can see Kissing Coppers, next to it Girl with Balloon and “Vandalised Oils (Choppers)”.
They used “geographic profiling” – a technique more commonly used to catch criminals or track disease outbreaks – to determine the locations of 192 of Banksy's suspected artworks.
The locations indicated “hotspots” that were narrowed down to locate a single individual. Spikes within these clusters were found to be linked to a pub, playing fields and residential addresses closely associated with Mr Gunningham and his friends and family.
Mr Gunningham attended Bristol Cathedral School and was born in July 1973. A school photo of him bore a striking resemblance to the man in the Jamaica photo.
A former school friend described him as “extremely talented” in art and admitted he “wouldn’t be surprised at all” if he was Banksy.
In anonymous interviews conducted, Banksy said he first became interested in graffiti at school.
And a fellow artist with whom he lived in Bristol in 1998, Luke Egan, subsequently exhibited with Banksy at Santa's Ghetto, an art shop in London's West End.
However, Mr Gunningham's family denied that he was Banksy and the connection was never explicitly confirmed.