Residents in a seaside resort reacted with dismay today to discover a £3m Bansky artwork had been removed from the side of a house in the dead of night.
The mural by the anonymous street artist featured a spray-painted seagull tucking into a refuse skip full of polystyrene chips on the side of a residential terraced building.
However the artwork that residents in Lowestoft, Norfolk had become proud to feature in their town was removed in a huge operation involving a crane this week.
Footage from Tuesday evening (Apr 4) shows the wall which had been cut off the side of the house strapped up with chains.
It is unknown where the piece is now as the building was under private ownership.
Onlookers watched in dismay as the art piece came down, with one shouting it was "being stolen from the town" whilst another admitted they were "sad to see it go".
John Brandler, a Lowestoft art dealer, was "dismayed" by the loss to the town. He said: "Banksy gave the town the most amazing gift and basically that has been lost.
"It has to be worth seven figures - between £1m to £3m."
The art piece had been wrapped in scaffolding weeks before and in January panic brewed as the skip prop was taken away.
However town mayor Alan Green had reassured residents in February that the piece was not being removed and that the scaffolding for work to stabilise the wall.
But this week drone video shows police presence as the roads on Denmark Road and Katwijk Way were temporarily closed for the removal operation.
It was painted by the artist in August 2021 as part of his 'Great British Spraycation'.
The project boosted the economies of coastal towns which had suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Brandler had previously approached East Suffolk Council in an attempt to create an art trail or museum for Banksy's local pieces to preserve the tourist income the art brought in.
However the idea had been met with deaf ears, according to him. He said this was "a missed golden opportunity for the town."
A spokesman for Lowestoft Town Council said the authority had "discovered that the Banksy Seagull mural has been removed overnight".
They added: "The artwork has been a draw to tourists and a talking point for Lowestoft on the national stage.
"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."
An East Suffolk Council spokesman 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.
"We acknowledge that Banksy's 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."
