Free house in Banksy sale

The mural has been put up for sale at an art gallery in Devon with the house offered for free as part of the sale.

Residents in the street in Easton reacted angrily when contractors appeared to be about to remove the art.

In fact they only removed a rusty street sign which is attached to the wall of the house where the mural is.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said there was never any instruction for the mural to be removed.

Local resident Ben Bloodworth said: "It means a lot to the community and it means a lot to the person who owns the house and it means a lot to the city council as they know what Banksy means to Bristol."

A Banksy artwork recently sold for �102,000 at auction Enlarge Image

Jordan Searle from the graffiti removal team said they were never going to remove it. He said the policy was to not remove murals.

"[Although] we didn't know that this was the famous Banksy artwork which is on the side of the house to be sold," he said.

The owners had originally put their house up for sale but were horrified to discover that all prospective buyers said they would remove the mural once contracts were exchanged.

The artwork, which is about four-years-old, is thought to be one of Bristol-born Banksy's last free-painted works. He normally uses stencils.

Meanwhile, a London council has admitted street cleaners accidentally washed off two Banksy murals, including one of a girl in a frilly dress wearing a gas mask, from the side of a building.

A Banksy artwork depicting pensioners bowling with bombs was sold for �102,000 at auction house Sotheby's in February.