Council adds its own touch to a Banksy

Works by maverick street artist Banksy are being restored by council workers to protect them from graffiti vandals.

One piece in Islington has been repaired five times by workmen who paint over the offending "tags".

A worker was spotted retouching the artist's "Tate Gallery" piece in Martineau Road, near Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.



Some of Banksy's pieces that appear in public places without permission have been condemnedas vandalism. Tower Hamlets council has threatened to remove any work by the artist that appears on its patch without permission.

But it seems that Islington makes a clear distinction between his creations and that of the graffiti vandals " tagging" over his work.

Islington defended its policy to clean up and repair the artist's work. It insisted it was spending taxpayers' money on the operation in response to residents' demands. Deputy leader and executive member for environment, Lucy Watt, said: "We take a very hard line on graffiti and remove it within 24 hours when it is reported to us. However, residents have been telling us Banksy is in a class of his own, his art sells for thousands, and they don't want us to remove the work."