Just claimed by Banksy, a work by the urban artist disappears in London

Made up of three aircraft which appear to be combat drones and produced on a stop sign, the work was posted on Friday December 22 on the Instagram account of the enigmatic artist Banksy, through which he usually authenticates his creations. Shortly after, around 12:30 p.m., the sign was dismantled and taken away by a man who ran away with the sign under his arm, according to videos of the scene filmed by witnesses and broadcast by British media.

A 26-year-old witness told the British agency PA that the onlookers who were there remained speechless in the face of what was unfolding before their eyes. “We said: what are you doing? But no one really knew what to do,” said this witness. Contacted by AFP, the London police indicated that they had not received any reports on this subject.

Several works by Banksy have already been stolen in the past, including a door from the Parisian Bataclan hall, which paid tribute to the victims of the November 13 attacks. Others have been compromised, like of a mural denouncing domestic violence, depicting a housewife with a 1950s or 1960s look, disfigured by a black eye and a broken tooth, while a man’s legs protrude from a real old horizontal freezer against the wall . The freezer was quickly removed for safety reasons, confusing the understanding of the work, before being reinstalled.