Two men run off with new London Banksy installation

LONDON

British street artist Banksy revealed his latest U.K. street artwork on Dec. 22, only for two men to run off with it just hours later while being filmed by bemused onlookers.

The installation, a traffic stop sign covered with three aircraft resembling military drones, was erected at an intersection in Peckham, south London, on Dec. 22.

An image was posted to Banksy's social media just after midday.

But shortly afterwards bystanders filmed two men taking it down, one of them running off with the sign under his arm.

Images and video of the removal were posted on social media.

"We said, 'what are you doing?' but no one really knew what to do, we sort of just watched it happen," one 26-year-old local, named Alex, told Britain's Press Association (PA).

"We were all a bit bemused... He ripped it off and ran across the road and ran away.” PA said it understood that Banksy was not behind the removal.

The Metropolitan Police asked for help from anyone with information about the reported theft. No arrest had been made by late Dec. 23 afternoon.

Jasmine Ali, deputy leader of the local borough council, called for the piece to be returned.

“It should not have been removed and we’d like it back so everyone in the community can enjoy Banksy’s brilliant work," Ali said.

The stop sign was replaced.

Banksy’s thought-provoking and satirical art often takes aim at war. Many of his followers on Instagram interpreted the work as calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

It not the first time the famously enigmatic artist's works have been removed shortly after appearing.

A mural depicting a 1950s-style housewife with a swollen eye and a missing tooth seemingly shoving her male partner into a real chest freezer briefly appeared in Margate, southeast England, before being promptly removed by local officials.

It reemerged in September in the foyer of "The Art of Banksy" exhibition in central London, where it can be viewed for free.

The exhibition features other famous Banksy pieces, including "Girl With Balloon," "Flower Thrower" and "Rude Copper" as well as focusing on his other recent works addressing the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Meanwhile, a rare nugget of information about the elusive global art phenomenon emerged last month in an unearthed 2003 BBC interview, in which he revealed his first name as "Robbie".