Replacement bicycle appears in front of Banksy artwork
Published: 11:41, 23 November 2020
Updated: 13:02, 23 November 2020
A replacement bicycle forming part of a Banksy mural has appeared just days after the original mysteriously disappeared.
A Raleigh Outland mountain bike, missing its rear wheel, can now be seen chained to the nearby lamppost in front of Banksy’s image of a girl hula-hooping at the corner of Rothesay Avenue and Ilkeston Road in Lenton, Nottingham.
The original bicycle, also sporting just its buckled front wheel but with the livery “Arkansas” and no saddle, went missing some time over the weekend, with sightseers fearing it may have been stolen.
Whatever the cause, a new bike is now in place and, somewhat fittingly for the bicycle manufacturer’s hometown of Nottingham, it is a Raleigh.
The tongue-in-cheek artwork first appeared on a brick wall on the side of a beauty parlour in the residential street on October 13.
Banksy claimed credit for the work via Instagram, sparking a stream of visitors, with the council fitting a protective transparent covering over the mural.
The screen has had to be cleaned after being repeatedly graffitied.
The artist, from Bristol, has been approached for comment on the bicycle mystery but has not yet responded.
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