Council removes 'racist' Banksy mural

Thu, 02 Oct, 2014 - 12:04

Ciara Flaherty

A Banksy mural painted on a wall in Essex has been removed by the local council after receiving a complaint that it was 'offensive' and 'racist'.

The piece - which tackles the anti-immigration movement - shows five pigeons holding placards reading “Go back to Africa” and “migrants not welcome” directed at a more exotic-looking bird.

The BBC reports that Tendring District Council didn't know that it was a Banksy piece - some of which sell for tens of thousands of pounds.

The mural appeared earlier in the week on the wall of a boathouse in Clacton-on-Sea - where a by-election is being held next week. A UKIP candidate, Douglas Carswell, is expected to win.

If there was a @banksy here, its been scrubbed out by someone. #ClactonByElection http://t.co/BesjFaG4C5 pic.twitter.com/vR8xFi6pBg
— Tom Barton (@tombarton) October 1, 2014

Nigel Brown, the communications manager for the council, told the BBC:

"The site was inspected by staff who agreed that it could be seen as offensive and it was removed this morning in line with our policy to remove this type of material within 48 hours.

"We would obviously welcome an appropriate Banksy original on any of our seafronts and would be delighted if he returned in the future."

No worries, some local artists have took it upon themselves to add their own artwork to the wall.