A new Banksy artwork has been taken down by hired contractors just hours after it appeared on a billboard in London - to the boos of locals.
The black silhouette of a large cat stretching appeared on abandoned signage in Cricklewood, northLondonovernight - with the artist confirming he was behind it with an Instagram post, as is his normal style.
But hours later, men who said they were 'hired' from a 'contracting company' turned up in Cricklewood to take the hoarding down for safety reasons.
A contractor, who only wanted to give his name as Marc, said they were going to pull the boarding down on Monday and replace it, but the removal had been brought forward to Saturday in case someone 'rips it down and leaves it unsafe'.
He told the PA news agency: 'We'll store that bit (the artwork) in our yard to see if anyone collects it but if not it'll go in a skip. I've been told to keep it careful in case he wants it.'
They arrived hours after a man, named locally as Richard, by was seen appearing to make an attempt at prising the artwork from the hoarding. And that came after an earlier artwork in the animal-themed series was nicked by joyless thugs.
Do YOU know the man in the video? Get in touch at jon.brady@mailonline.co.uk
Contractors taking down Banksy's latest artwork - a silhouette of a cat on a billboard in Cricklewood
The artwork was removed, contractors say, to stop it from being stolen - after a man was filmed apparently trying to prise it from the wall
The artwork appeared to show the cat digging its claws into a tired piece of the abandoned billboard in north London
A man has already been spotted trying to nab Banksy's latest artwork, less than an hour after it was unveiled
A passerby managed to capture the moment on camera, as the man appeared to be using a hammer to get underneath the sheet of wood and make off with the undoubtedly valuable artwork
Banksy revealed his sixth artwork in as many days on his Instagram page today at 1pm, but within the hour an opportunist was caught red handed trying to pry it off the wall
Fresh paint spotted on some nearby branches - perhaps indicating the pace at which the elusive artist worked
A passerby captured the moment the fan appeared to be using a hammer to chip away some of the surrounding rotting wood, before eyeing the onlooker and laughing and walking away when he realised he was being filmed.
One onlooker said: 'He was hacking away for a few minutes before a number of people began shouting at him.
'I don't know how he thought he could get away with it because it was the middle of the day, around the time Banksy confirmed the artwork was his.'
Police taped off the path in front of the hoarding as about 50 people gathered to take pictures.
Some Cricklewood locals lamented the decision to remove the artwork in order to keep it safe.
Lia Colacicco, 67, told the PA news agency she offered to look after the Banksy artwork for the owners of the billboard once it was taken down.
Ms Colacicco and two other members of the North West Two Residents Association watched as contractors started to remove it.
Ben Tansley, 71, said: 'If it wasn't guarded overnight somebody would take it. It's such a shame. There were people here this morning before it was on Instagram.'
Carol Reeman, 64, said: 'This is Cricklewood, this is our Banksy. You can't even enjoy it for the whole day before someone wanted to take it down.
'You would wait for a lifetime for a Banksy to come into our neighbourhood. Cricklewood's on the map.'
But the owner of a billboard which is now home to a Banksy artwork has told police he will donate it to an art gallery, an officer at the scene told the PA news agency.
A black board was used to cover the majority of the cat on the billboard at the request of the police, who wanted to stop people walking in the road in front of traffic. Onlookers booed the contractors as they removed the work on Saturday.
It comes after earlier murals unveiled this week consisted of a goat, two elephants, three monkeys, a lone wolf on a satellite dish and two pelicans.
The artist’s recent blitz of animal art across the capital has sent fans into a tailspin of speculation about what message lies behind the images.
Now the anonymous tagger has revealed that he has been leaving the animal murals across London to help spread a bit of happiness, during a bleak period in the UK.
It comes after earlier murals unveiled this week consisted of a goat, two elephants, three monkeys and a lone wolf on a satellite dish and two pelicans
Police had to ask people to keep off of the road as they tried to take pictures of the artwork
The Guardian reported that Banksy had been trying create 'moments of unexpected amusem*nt, as well as to gently underline the human capacity for creative play, rather than for destruction and negativity.'
It also claimed that a seventh mural will be popping up in another surprise location soon, so eagle-eyed fans should keep their eyes peeled.
The first piece of graffiti in the series, which he shared on his Instagram account on Monday, showed a goat teetering on a ledge with rocks falling down below it - just above where a CCTV camera was pointed.
The same cherry picker was spotted in the early hours of Monday where the goat mural was being painted.
It is located near Kew Bridge, southwest London, on the wall of engineering firm Boss & Co, which builds exclusive guns.
Banksy posted artwork of a goat perched on top of a wall near Kew Bridge in Richmond on Monday
Another new artwork, confirmed to be by Banksy, was unveiled on a wall of a house in Chelsea, London this week
The mural sits above Bonners Fish Bar, on Northcote Road. It is based on a quiet residential street in east London
The next day, the artist added another design to the collection: silhouettes of two elephants with their trunks stretched toward each other on the side of a building near Chelsea.
This was followed by a trio of monkeys looking as though they were swinging from underneath a bridge over Brick Lane, near a vintage clothing shop and a coffee house in the popular East London market street - not far from Shoreditch High Street.
The primates have been associated with the Japanese proverb 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'. But in Banksy's work the monkeys are not covering their eyes, ears or mouths.
His fourth artwork which appeared in southeast London yesterday - depicting a howling lone wolf on a satellite dish - appeared to have been stolen within minutes.
The striking painting of the canine howling into the night sky appeared overnight on top of a former Betfred shop on Rye Lane, Peckham.
Footage emerged showing the shocking moment the artwork was dismantled before being carried away.
The group of hooded men wearing facemasks and gloves were spotted scaling the building, removing the satellite dish, and walking off.
The artwork showing the silhouette of a wolf howling appeared on a rooftop in Peckham. It is the latest piece in a series of murals that have been unveiled this week
A hooded man with a mask holding the satellite dish while stood on top of the building
The apparent theft rings echoes of a similar incident last year where another piece by Banksy - a traffic stop sign with three military drones - was also taken.
So far Banksy has been confirming pieces as his with 1pm posts on his Instagram page.
The most recent Google Street View - from June 2022 - shows the billboard being used for a tool company advert.
Banksy's team has been approached for comment.
The artist is one of the most elusive creatives in the world and has managed to avoid completely revealing his identity.
In 2008, The Mail on Sunday reported that he is Robin Gunningham, who was born in Yate, near Bristol - the city where the artist first made his name.
