A landlord has removed a valuable Banksy artwork from their shop wall and hidden it in an unknown location.
The artwork was one of several pieces to appear in Lowestoft, Suffolk, back in August this year, but has now been removed from the building - which had rocketed in value after being Banksy-ed.
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The empty shop, which previously housed electrical store Lowestoft Electrical, was previously on the market for £300,000, but leapt up by at least another £200,000 after Banky's artwork of a child with a crowbar popped up.
The brick and plaster section was carefully cut out of the wall by removal experts at the weekend, with a video showing a yellow telehandler tearing out the part of the wall covered in graffiti, which was protected with a screen and wooden boards.
Workmen then loaded the wall slab onto a truck, before taking it to an undisclosed location.
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It remains unclear whether or not the artwork - which was one of 10 pieces made in Banksy's 'Great British Spraycation' - will be sold at auction, with previous Banksy pieces reeling in millions under the hammer.
Furious locals have since blasted the proprietor online for removing the artwork, with one describing the removal as 'stupidity' and 'disrespectful'.
They wrote on Facebook: "Now being shipped off to sell at public auction.. This is terrible. Why spend the money to protect it then just take it away..."
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Another said: "Greed, lack of understanding, lack of respect.
"Remove a painted artwork all because who did it... its a joke tbh and should have been allowed. Sets a bad precedent."
Someone else added: "So so sad x perhaps he will come back and do another one. But somewhere it won't be taken away from."
Banksy unveiled his new 'Great British Spraycation' series this summer, having posted rare footage of himself in action creating them.
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One, which appeared at the bottom of Links Hill in North Beach, Lowestoft, depicted a rat reclining in a deckchair with a cocktail in its paw.
Another, which showed up in Katwijk Way, also in Lowestoft, is of a giant seagull painted onto the side of a property, swooping down on a skip full of oversized 'chips', which are made from pieces of insulation material.
Meanwhile, a piece on Admiralty Road in Great Yarmouth showed three people on top of a bus shelter - two dancing together, while another plays an accordion.
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Featured Image Credit: SWNS