Hull City Council to preserve Banksy mural

Hull Council faced criticism for not acting quickly enough to protect the figure of a boy, with a pencil stuck on the end of a sword, with the slogan Draw The Raised Bridge, after it appeared on Scott Street Bridge.

The artist confirmed it as genuine on Friday night after the council closed shop for the weekend but on Sunday night vandals daubed it in white paint.

The artwork has since had a plastic sheet placed over it, but Coun Alan Clark said he was worried about the condensation gathering underneath. He expects the new cover to be up by the end of next week.

He is in talks with local graffiti artists Spray Creative to brighten up the surrounding industrial area and hopes businesses get involved.

He said: “Having a Banksy is just a dream come true. It is staying where it is – it is not moving to a museum because it will lose its meaning. It is in an industrial area that quite frankly needs regenerating and just something as simple as putting some artwork round it can start bringing people into it.”