Banksy heist! Man nabs a piece of anti-war art

A BANKSY artwork was swiped from a street yesterday less than half an hour after it was revealed to be a genuine installation.

- Hannah Roberts

The artist confirmed the piece - a traffic stop sign covered with three military drones - was his in a social media post shortly after 12pm.

Other works by the mysterious street artist have previously sold for nearly £20million.

A man was seen taking down the sign in Peckham, South London, at about 12.30 pm. It is understood Banksy is not behind the removal.

A witness said onlookers "watched in awe" as a man "bashed it with his hands". The onlooker, who wanted to be referred to only as Alex, rode a Lime hire bike to the spot to view the piece.

Bashed

However, a man then used the same bike to stand on so he could reach the sign.

Alex, 26, said: "I opened Instagram and I saw it was posted four minutes before and I was about to go on my lunch break.