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Owners Of House Used For New Banksy Work Delay Sale

Owners Of House Used For New Banksy Work Delay Sale

It was supposed to be sold next week

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

The owners of a house in Bristol have delayed the sale of their property after it turned out to be the location of a new Banksy piece.

On Thursday (10 December), the artwork - entitled 'Aachoo!!' - was revealed on the side of the semi-detached house, with the elusive artist later authenticating the work as his own via his website and social media pages.

Nicolas Makin, owner of the house, has now told the BBC that despite reports that they would be pulling out of the sale, it will still be going ahead - they've simply delayed it to get their heads around the situation.

He said: "When you wake up to tabloids saying your house is now worth £5m you've got to think about what you're doing. It does increase the value, and you have to take a moment to think about it, but it's not changing anything in terms of the house sale for us."

Mr Makin also told ITV News: "We put the proceedings on hold for 48 hours to understand what was going on."

The homeowner's mother Aileen actually owns the property and was due to complete the sale next week - but of course, the new addition to the exterior may well change the value.

The average home on the street is worth about £300,000, according to Zoopla, but Banksy's works can go for millions.

According to Mr Makin, people were climbing over his house while he slept to get a closer look, while his stepbrother helped him to put a perspex screen over the artwork to protect it from vandals.

He also told ITV News that he will be speaking to security companies about the best way to keep it safe.

The painting depicts an old woman sneezing with her false teeth shooting out - the house is on Britain's steepest street and the angle in which it's painted makes it appear that her sneeze is blowing the houses over.

A former tenant of the house, Fred Loosmore, told ITV: "I just moved out. We've been in and out for a week or so. It's actually on the outside wall of what was my bedroom.

"There's a big walk-in wardrobe on the other side.

"We've got a furniture company, so we're bringing down a big bit of acrylic plastic to cover it up. Obviously things like this can get defaced, and we don't want that to happen."

Instagram/Banksy

He added: "I can't believe it."

Dale Comley, another neighbour, says he saw someone on the street early in the morning.

He said: "I got up, made a coffee, looked out the window and noticed someone in a high-vis jacket.

"I thought it was awfully early for someone to be getting up to start working on scaffolding.

"He looked quite out of place but was very much looking at this [the artwork] the whole time."

Featured Image Credit: Instagram

Topics: UK News, Banksy