Part of Banksy artwork in Lowestoft removed amid fears of flytipping
The skip which formed part of the iconic seagull mural has been placed into storage
Part of a Banksy mural in a Suffolk town has been removed over concerns about flytipping.
The artwork on the side of a building on Katwijk Way appeared around two years ago and used to show a seagull swooping down to steal 'chips', made of insulation foam, from a yellow skip.
The mural was painted in the summer of 2021 and is just one of several in coastal locations in Suffolk and Norfolk.
The 'chips' were stolen at some point in January 2022, with the skip increasingly becoming a dumping ground for rubbish since it was placed on the site.
The artwork has been surrounded by metal fencing for several months but now the owner of the neighbouring property has decided to remove the skip and place it in storage.
An East Suffolk Council spokesperson said: “At no point has East Suffolk Council enforced the removal of the skip component of the Banksy mural on the side of the building at the corner of Denmark Road and Katwijk Way.
"The skip has been removed by the property owner and is now in safe storage.
“The initial artwork utilised the skip to tell a story - holding yellow insulation boards, to represent chips being stolen by the seagull.
"However these were removed by an unknown party last year and the skip has unfortunately been used ever since as a place to dump rubbish of any kind, encouraging fly-tipping.
“Having funded the installation of protective screens at the site and continued to support the artwork’s maintenance, we have been in discussions with the owner about the issues with fly-tipping and the general appearance of the site and he has now taken the decision to remove the skip.
“It is a great shame that the original meaning of the artwork was lost when the chips were stolen – but we know that Banksy has a history of producing dynamic artwork which does not always stay in its original form.
"While we do everything we can, within reason, to protect and maintain his pieces, sometimes it simply isn’t possible.”