'Banksy' Caught On Camera Painting New Christmas Mural
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After Banksy's new mural appeared on a wall in Birmingham, it looks like a nearby shop's security camera may have caught the master himself at work.
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The footage was taken just before 7.30am on Friday 6 December and you can just make out a man moving in to the middle of the road in the top left of the shot - potentially admiring the completed mural which was first spotted by members of the public early on Friday morning.
The area cordoned off with orange cones on Vyse Street in the city's Jewellery Quarter was the spot where the 'graffiti' later appeared.
The infamous street artist unveiled the art installation, which is designed to draw attention to homelessness. A video Banksy posted on his Instagram account showed a homeless man named 'Ryan' laying down on a park bench.
Banksy has painted two reindeer on the wall beside the bench, making it look as if they are pulling it as a sleigh on their way to Santa's grotto.
Martin Clarke, a jeweller at Vault 88, claims to have seen two workmen early on Friday morning working on the wall which is directly outside his shop.
He said: "I saw a small tent with a couple lads in high-vis vests early in the morning on Friday. I thought they were from the council and were just doing a bit of upkeep.
"About half six I looked out the window and the tent had gone as had the lads. Then I saw it.
"I thought it was great. We weren't sure what it was at first or who did it but we had a good idea."
The footage, which was viewed nearly 1.4 million times three hours after it was posted, plays a slow festive tune in the background with the lyrics: "I'll be home for Christmas."
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The caption on the Instagram post reads: "God bless Birmingham. In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench, passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter - without him ever asking for anything."
The post has generated thousands of likes and comments, including one from PR firm Stand Agency who tweeted: "Drawing attention to homelessness this #Christmas in Birmingham in his trademark hard-hitting fashion.
"It's also heart-warming to hear about the kindness and generosity of people walking past as this was being filmed."
However, it appears the work has been vandalised overnight.
The Vyse Street mural now features red-nosed reindeers, which wasn't part of the initial artwork.
