Vandals at work

New Banksy motif smeared with white paint

The motif had only recently been discovered.(Bild: AP)

Just a few days after the appearance of a new motif by the mysterious British street artist Banksy, it was smeared with white paint.

The green work had been sprayed on a white wall behind a bare tree and, from the right angle, gave the impression that the tree was wearing leaves.

At the bottom left of the wall, in typical style, a person can be seen holding a sprayer and looking at the work. The vibrant green resembles that of the street signs in the borough of Islington.

As seen in new photos on Wednesday, two stripes of white paint have been painted over part of the artwork.

The motif was only discovered a few days ago. On Monday, Banksy, whose identity is unknown, confirmed his authorship with photos on his Instagram account.

This is not the first time that a Banksy artwork has been interfered with shortly after publication. Shortly before Christmas, two men in London stole a stop sign on which the artist had painted three drones.

In the south-east English coastal town of Margate, a house wall on which Banksy had sprayed a motif was dismantled and later shown in a London exhibition.