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A mural by world-famous graffiti artist Banksy has been removed from a wall in Suffolk and taken to an unknown location.
The enormous seagull appeared in Lowestoft in August 2021 as part of Banksy’s Great British Spraycation series across East Anglia.
Scaffolding was first spotted around the artwork last month, but the town’s mayor Alan Green assured locals it was not being removed.
Mr Green said it had been installed to stabilise the wall, but cranes arrived in the town last night and moved the mural away, prompting fears it had been sold.
A council spokesperson told the BBC they had ‘discovered that the Banksy Seagull mural has been removed overnight’.
‘The artwork has been a draw to tourists and a talking point for Lowestoft on the national stage,’ they added.
‘However, the building is privately owned so Lowestoft Town Council has no jurisdiction on the building or any further information of the intentions of the owner.’
A spokesman for East Suffolk Council said: ‘While we are naturally disappointed by the reported removal of the Banksy seagull from the side of a building in Lowestoft, it is ultimately the right of the owner to make decisions about their own property, and we acknowledge that Banksy works, by their nature, may not always be permanent features.
‘We remain grateful for the attention that Banksy has brought to Lowestoft – a town with a burgeoning arts and cultural scene that will continue to go from strength to strength.’
The artwork was originally next to a skip containing strips of insulation to represent chips but this was removed due to fly-tipping.
It is not the first time the town has been hit with controversy after another Banksy artwork in the town was removed from a shop wall.
And in Margate an artwork by Banksy, titled ‘Valentine’s Day Mascara’, was removed and relocated to a theme park.
The artwork depicted a 1950s-style housewife with a swollen eye and a missing tooth pushing a man in an old freezer that had been abandoned in the street.
It was unveiled just before February 14 and is seen as a statement on violence against women.
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