(London) A man suspected of running away with a London street sign depicting a work claimed by Banksy was arrested, police said Saturday, a day after the theft.
Posted at 8:44 p.m.
The work, three aircraft that look like combat drones on a stop sign, appeared at an intersection in the Peckham district of southeast London on Friday morning.
The enigmatic artist quickly posted a photo of his work on his Instagram account, which he usually uses to authenticate his creations.
Less than an hour later, witnesses filmed a man sitting on a bicycle using cutting pliers to dismantle the panel with the help of another man. The video that made the rounds on social media then shows him running away from work.
The London police initially stated that they had not received any reports on this issue.
But Southwark City Council, which is particularly responsible for signage in this area, said on Friday evening that it wanted to get the sign back and had reported the incident to the police.
On Saturday evening, police announced that a man was arrested and remains in custody.
“This incident is currently under investigation,” a London Police spokesman added, without providing further details about the person arrested.
She urged “anyone who may have information about the incident or the whereabouts of the sign” to contact police.
Several of Banksy's works have been stolen in the past, including a door from the Bataclan room in Paris dedicated to the victims of the November 13 attacks.
Others have been compromised, such as a mural denouncing domestic violence, depicting a housewife with a 1950s or 1960s appearance, disfigured by a black eye and a broken tooth, while a man's legs are made from an old, very real, horizontal freezer protruding against the wall.
The freezer was quickly removed for safety reasons, making the work difficult to understand, and then reinstalled.