Banksy theft gang thwarted

A gang of would-be thieves have been foiled as they used sophisticated equipment to try and steal part of a derelict wall in Hackney Wick featuring one of the first works of street artist Banksy.

The gang were disturbed by artists from the nearby Elevator Gallery as they used industrial cutting gear in a bid to prize the concrete slab from a wall near White Post Lane.



The stencil is believed to be one of the first works by Bristol-born Banksy, who is admired for his satirical pieces of street art on topics including politics, ethics and popular culture.



The threatened Hackney Wick image shows a baby with scattered building blocks and the slogan, "Kill People", and is located in White Post Lane, near Hackney Wick railway station.

Now the Elevator artists, who have a gallery amid the thriving artistic scene in Queen's Yard, want the local authority to step in and save the stencil before it is damaged beyond repair.