Banksy Banksy mural rescued by Hull window cleaner Artwork on raised bridge in the City of Culture was painted over by vandals The Banksy artwork on a raised bridge in Hull. Photograph: Tom Maddick/SWNS.com
A window cleaner from Hull has been hailed a hero for saving a new Banksy mural that was completely covered in white paint by vandals.
The artwork, which depicts a young boy raising a sword-like pencil with the words “Draw the raised bridge!”, was discovered on a permanently raised bridge in the city last week.
The stencil drew large crowds to an industrial area in the 2017 City of Culture, after Banksy used his verified Instagram account to confirm it was his work.
However, within 48 hours the mural had been completely daubed in white paint, sparking a furious reaction online.
Residents were angered by the defacing of the artwork, with one Banksy fan saying: “I am absolutely livid with Hull city council for not protecting the Banksy mural. City of Culture, pfffft.”
On Sunday night, local window cleaner Jason Fanthorpe and other residents took matters into their own hands to save the mural.
“There were lots of people turning up and I was just going to bed when I saw it had been destroyed,” Fanthorpe told BBC Radio Humberside. It wasn’t just me that helped, this work is international prestige gifted to the city, and I couldn’t sit back and see nothing happen.
“Being a window cleaner I had the equipment and the ladder, and I tried with just water at first. I was desperate not to destroy it but I had to use white spirit to get it off.”
He added: “It’s a faded Banksy now, but it’s better than a silver blob. There was a lot of talk on the One Hull Of A City Facebook group about the reputation of the city being dragged down, but it’s not right to tarnish the entire city because of the actions of a few.
“The amount of people who were talking about this, if I hadn’t gone down someone else would.”
A Hull city council spokeswoman said it would be covering the artwork with acrylic sheeting later on Monday before coming up with a permanent plan to protect it.
Image copyright Harry Robinson-Clark Image caption The damaged mural (top) and after the whitewash had been removed (bottom)
A defaced mural by the graffiti artist Banksy on a disused bridge in Hull has been saved by a window cleaner.
The stencilled design depicts a child carrying a wooden sword with a pencil attached to the end, under the text "draw the raised bridge!"
The mural on Scott Street, Wincolmlee, was whitewashed on Sunday night but Jason Fanthorpe used water and white spirit to partly restore the image.
Hull City Council has since installed a large protective cover over the work.
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Mr Fanthorpe said he "could not just sit back and not try to help" after seeing the mural had been damaged.
"I was just going to bed when I'd seen that it had been painted over, and someone had said it was still wet," he said.
"Banksy, love him or hate him, has international prestige and he'd gifted the city with his art."
Image caption A protective screen was installed over the mural on Monday morning
The window cleaner already had his ladders and other equipment prepared for his Monday morning shift, so he headed straight to the bridge in an attempt to save the mural.
He said: "I tried with just pure water at first, on one tiny corner, desperate not to destroy the underlying art. But it was not shifting so had to use white spirit."
A number of people also turned up overnight to help with the cleaning, Mr Fanthorpe added.
A steady stream of people have been visiting the street to take photos of the mural after images of it were shared on Banksy's verified Instagram account on Friday.
Hull City Council said the protective layer has been added "to prevent further damage".
"This temporary measure will help to ensure that the public can continue to enjoy the work," a spokesperson said.
Image caption Hundreds of people have visited the mural on Scott Street since it appeared
Staff at the Whalebone pub, yards away from the mural, told the BBC they have met people from Bristol and Manchester who have travelled to Hull specifically to see the artwork.
Chris Fenton went to the site earlier after hearing about the damage.
"Why would someone do that? What was the reason," he said.
"All the excitement it brought to the city over the weekend and someone does that."
A window cleaner has helped save a new mural by enigmatic street artist Banksy on a bridge in Hull after it was defaced on Sunday night.
Jason Fanthorpe was getting ready for bed when he saw reports the stencilled design - of a child carrying a wooden sword with a pencil attached to the end - had been whitewashed.
He headed straight to the disused Scott Street bridge with ladders and cleaning products, using water and white spirit to clean off the white paint.
“I was angry, outraged,” he told The Telegraph. “Love it or hate it, there's no need to deface it. That art was gifted to the city, it was drawing crowds in from all over.”
He initially attempted to use water “tentatively on one corner” to shift the paint but found it was ineffective.
HE IS the elusive street artist whose real identity has never been revealed.
Banksy has been baffling the world for years after creating street art using the over of darkness to keep his anonymity - but fans are furious after his latest work was covered in paint after just three days.
SWNS:South West News Service A picture taken in 2007 in Bethlehem that claims to show the elusive street artist Banksy
Who is Banksy and how did he get started?
Dubbed the Scarlet Pimpernel of the art world, Banksy is an anonymous English-based street and graffiti artist as well as a political artist.
He first burst into prominence in the early 1990s as a graffiti artist whose works highlighted corruption and inequality in society with a smattering of humour.
His work was spotted around the south of England, including in London, Brighton and Bristol.
Banksy has never been unmasked and it is believed his refusal to reveal himself started as a way of avoiding prosecution for vandalism.
The artist has also dabbled in the world of film, releasing the 'street art disaster movie' Exit Throught The Gift Shop.
And in 2015 he opened Dismaland, a large scale installation in Weston-super-Mare lampooning Disneyland.
Who is Banksy and has his identity ever been revealed?
SWNS:South West News Service Massive Attack star Robert Del Naja has been rumoured to be Banksy
Rumours have long circulated about the true identity of street artist Banksy.
A number of people claim to have spotted him at work but no sighting has ever been officially confirmed while other clues have been used to try and unmask the legend.
Robin Gunningham was an early candidate to be 'revealed' as the man behind Banksy in 2008. Years later researchers at Queen Mary University of London used 'geographic profiling' to match the locations of Bansky paintings to a pub, playing fields and residential addresses with links to the 44-year-old. Representatives for the artist have denied the theory.
was an early candidate to be 'revealed' as the man behind Banksy in 2008. Years later researchers at Queen Mary University of London used 'geographic profiling' to match the locations of Bansky paintings to a pub, playing fields and residential addresses with links to the 44-year-old. Representatives for the artist have denied the theory. Robert Del Naja was touted as the anonymous artist last year when Bristol DJ Goldie appeared to name the Massive Attack member, a personal friend, in an interview. He said: "No disrespect to Rob, I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over."
was touted as the anonymous artist last year when Bristol DJ Goldie appeared to name the Massive Attack member, a personal friend, in an interview. He said: "No disrespect to Rob, I think he is a brilliant artist. I think he has flipped the world of art over." Liverpool pub sighting - A photo showing a man wearing a high-vis jacket appearing to start work on a painting of a giant white rat on the White Horse pub in Liverpool in 2004 sparked speculation Banksy had finally been unmasked.
- A photo showing a man wearing a high-vis jacket appearing to start work on a painting of a giant white rat on the White Horse pub in Liverpool in 2004 sparked speculation Banksy had finally been unmasked. Bethlehem pictures - William Kasper, from London, believed he had unmasked the graffiti king with pictures captured in 2007. Members of the public, later identified the painter as James Ame - also known as aka AM72 - a UK painter who lives in Israel.
- William Kasper, from London, believed he had unmasked the graffiti king with pictures captured in 2007. Members of the public, later identified the painter as James Ame - also known as aka AM72 - a UK painter who lives in Israel. Bristol video footage - Grainy 47-second clip shows a man in a hoodie and a painter's face mask using stencils and cardboard to spray fresh graffiti in an underpass in Bansky's native Bristol in 2010.
- Grainy 47-second clip shows a man in a hoodie and a painter's face mask using stencils and cardboard to spray fresh graffiti in an underpass in Bansky's native Bristol in 2010. Dismaland sighting -In 2015, fans were then convinced they spotted a man who they thought might look like Banksy outside his Dismaland installation in Weston-super-Mare. But to their disappointment, it was later revealed to be a parking attendant from the local council.
The artist at work at The White Horse pub in Liverpool (left) and the finished mural (right)
What art has Banksy created and why has his latest work been removed?
Banksy has left his street art all over the world but has been most prolific in the UK.
The guerrilla artist is known to have created more than 120 works spanning three decades.
Here are a handful which have helped make his name.
There is Always Hope – London
Arguably Banksy’s most iconic piece, it appeared in South Bank, London in around 2002. The title is written behind a young girl seen reaching for a balloon in the shape of a heart.
Rex Features
EU flag - Dover
One of the guerrilla artist's latest work is an Brexit-inspired piece erected in Dover last year.
It features a workman on a ladder removing one of the bright yellow stars following Britain's decision to leave the European Union
Reuters The artwork close to the Kent port town's ferry terminal features a workman on a ladder removing one of the bright yellow stars
GCHQ Government Spies Telephone Box – Cheltenham
In April 2014, he created a piece near to GCHQ in Cheltenham of three men wearing sunglasses and using listening devices to snoop on a telephone box.
It followed revelations from files leaked by former CIA agent Edward Snowden about the surveillance techniques used by intelligence agencies.
SWNS:South West News Service One of Banksy's best known works of three men wearing sunglasses and using listening devices to snoop on a telephone box near GCHQ in Cheltenham
Draw The Raised Bridge - Hull
The work shows a young boy wearing a helmet and cape alongside the words "Draw the raised bridge" and appeared last week.
But councillors immediately called for the mural to be cleaned off - although they admit it is "mindbogglingly brilliant".
Within three days the boy was completely covered in white paint, sparking fury from residents.
SWNS:South West News Service The Bansky mural appeared for a short time in Hull
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