Skip part of £2million Banksy artwork removed after passers-by kept leaving rubbish in it

A skip that was part of a £2million artwork by Banksy has been removed after passers-by kept leaving rubbish in it.

The giant mural of a seagull swooping down on a ‘chip basket’ – represented by polystyrene blocks in the skip – appeared on a wall in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 2021.

But since then people have used it to dump sandwich wrappers, crisp packets and cigarette butts rather than find a bin.

The polystyrene was stolen in February last year. The skip has now also been taken away after the council asked the building’s owner to maintain ‘cleanliness’. 

A skip that was part of a £2million artwork by Banksy has been removed after passers-by kept leaving rubbish in it

The giant mural of a seagull swooping down on a ‘chip basket’ – represented by polystyrene blocks in the skip – appeared on a wall in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in 2021

Modern art dealer John Brandler said the mural and skip were a ‘beautiful, important and world-famous’ piece – but separating them meant it was worth ‘b***** all’. 

He added: ‘It’s a sad loss that someone has taken all its meaning away. You need the skip. It’s like having an ice cream without the cone.’

The work was one of many that appeared in East Anglia towns in the summer of 2021 as part of Banksy’s ‘Great British Spraycation’ series. 

The building’s owner, who didn’t want to be identified, said: ‘We have it [the skip] in storage. We have secured the protective screening and cleaned up the area.’

Former tenant John Beasley said: ‘By the time my family and I moved in 2022, it was less of an art piece and more of a dump.’

The polystyrene was stolen in February last year. The skip has now also been taken away after the council asked the building’s owner to maintain ‘cleanliness’