Banksy stop sign aeroplanes art removed in London

A Banksy artwork on a stop sign has been removed in less than an hour after it was confirmed as authentic.

The artist, believed to have been born in Yate, installed the piece featuring three military like aeroplanes in Peckham, south-east London.

The piece on Commercial Way was included in photos on his Instagram page on Friday shortly after midday.

Two men were seen taking down the sign at about 12.30 GMT. It is understood Banksy was not behind the removal.

Banksy has installed other pieces this year including Valentine's Day Mascara, a mural weighing 3.8 tonnes, which appeared on the side of a house in Margate, Kent, on Valentine's Day.

It depicted a 1950s' housewife with a swollen eye and missing tooth, wearing an apron and yellow washing-up gloves, and throwing a man into a chest freezer.

In September it was placed in the foyer of The Art of Banksy exhibition in central London, where it can be viewed for free.

The exhibition features pieces including Girl With Balloon, Flower Thrower and Rude Copper and also focuses on Banksy's Dismaland that was installed in Weston-super-Mare, The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem and recent works acknowledging the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The artist often refers to contemporary issues and in 2020 included messages about the Coronavirus pandemic in his work.