Man Discovers Banksy-Style Neil Buchanan Graffiti On His Garage

A man was 'blown away' when he discovered a Banksy-style graffiti mural of former Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan on the side of his garage.

Allan Levy, from Northampton, UK, immediately set about trying to establish if the artwork - which appears to be signed by Banksy - is a genuine piece.

SWNS

If the significance of this is lost on you, basically Buchanan was forced to deny that he is the mysterious artist earlier this month after viral rumours began gathering serious momentum.

A post on his website, entitled 'Neil Buchanan is NOT Banksy', read: "We have been inundated with enquiries over the weekend regarding the current social media story.

"Unfortunately this website does not have the infrastructure to answer all these enquiries, individually, however we can confirm that there is no truth in the rumour whatsoever.

"Neil spent lockdown with vulnerable members of his family and is now preparing to launch his new art collection in 2021.

"Thank you and please stay safe."

SWNS

But while that rumour has been well and truly quashed, the mystery of who's behind Allan's garage artwork is not yet solved. The 57-year-old photographer got in touch with the website pestcontroloffice.com - which verifies Banksy artwork - after he found it on Tuesday, however they couldn't say either way.

Dad-of-three Allan said: "They said it would be on Instagram if he had done it, but that can take weeks. This only just happened two days ago.

"They aren't really 100 percent sure it's not him so we're kind of waiting and seeing. I'm not going to do anything with it. I think street art belongs exactly where it was put. I'm a photographer myself and I very much appreciate it as an artist.

"It belongs where it was made and it should stay exactly there. I'm just proud to have it there whether it turns out to be a genuine Banksy or not. But I can't help but have the attitude that I now have a Banksy in my collection - I'm very proud of it."

SWNS

Indeed, even if it isn't the genuine article, Allan still thinks it is a brilliant piece of art.

He said: "I was blown away when I saw it. It's certainly a great piece of art and I love street art.

"It was obviously clever and well thought out, the stencilling work is extremely well done. I'd certainly like to think it was Banksy and it has been the talk of the town since.

"I'd recently cut back some plants that were hanging over onto the wall. I'm glad I did, as at least the artist had a clear space to work with.

"It's really good, it's such a lovely piece - this is beyond anything I could have dreamed of."

Northampton Council said it won't be trying to ascertain whether the work is authentic or not as it is on private property, so I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on Banksy's Insta.

Unless, plot twist, what if this isn't a Banksy - it's a Neil Buchanan??

Topics: Viral, UK News, Art, Banksy

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey