Civic authorities in a town in the UK removed the section of a wall that held the Banksy mural. The art, a seagull, appeared on the building in Lowestoft, Suffolk, suddenly in August 2021, according to the BBC. The image was part of the artist's Great British Spraycation, which Banksy confirmed in an Instagram video. The civic authorities had said that these murals will be removed, and they started working with small firms to restore and display them in local museum.
It was originally painted next to a skip containing strips of insulation to represent chips, but the feature was removed to deter fly-tipping.
Last month, the mayor said he had has been assured that the wall where the mural of the elusive artist resides has not been covered up and that work was being carried out to stabilise it, the BBC further said.
Garry Freeman, a building firm employee involved in the structural removal, said it had now gone into storage, "somewhere in the UK".
However, the owners of the home on which the mural was painted, shelled out $247,000 to let the bird take flight.
"At first it was obviously incredible. But as things have gone on, it has become extremely stressful. I'm not sure Banksy realises the unintended consequences on homeowners. If we could turn back the clock, we would," New York Post quoted Garry Coutts, the co-owner of the house, as saying about the artwork and its removal. It is believed to be worth millions.
The couple claimed that the local council officials told them it could come under a "preservation order" and that the Coutts will be personally responsible for maintaining it.
"I have had to hire a night watchman to look after it after someone stole part of it and tried to sell it on Facebook," said Mr Coutts. "Another time vandals were caught with a dozen pots of white paint and were apparently going to paint over it."
