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A piece of Banksy artwork worth £1million has been destroyed by a builder who was working on the building it was painted on.
The piece, 'Spy Booth', is a mural that satires government surveillance and shows 1950s-style agents using devices to tap into conversations at a telephone box. Now, it's literally a pile of bricks.
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The art used to be on the wall of a terrace house in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and appeared in 2014. The man who inadvertently destroyed the piece was working on removing the rendering above the Banksy.
Unfortunately for the labourer, as he worked on the rendering, the art below crumbled into rubble.
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"The render had to come down to a certain point so the plasterers could start on Monday," a builder at the site said. "The render had all blown away and had damp behind it. It's been left for two-and-a-half years.
"It's become derelict. The owner couldn't fix it up to have tenants in because the council said it was listed.
"The labourer was told to go down to a point where it was safe above the Banksy. He was just following instructions."
The owner of the home, David Possee, has given all the rubble to Cheltenham Borough Council, who confirmed the damage of the mural.
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"We have endeavoured to protect the Banksy as much as possible and to this end the notice required the owner to have due regard for the Banksy mural whilst works were being undertaken," Mark Nelson of Cheltenham Borough Council said.
"We would advise anyone against removing any further pieces from the location as this may be classed as a criminal offence."
There's currently an investigation into the incident and Cheltenham MP Alex Chalk has said that the artwork was a valued part of the town's heritage.
Possee has been offered money for the mural on more than one occasion, and was made an offer for more than £1million before it was destroyed.
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