Residents of a quiet back street in Margate have described a whirlwind 24 hours after famous artist Banksy daubed his latest artwork on an unassuming house.

Those living in Grosvenor Place have been inundated with visitors, eager to catch a glimpse of the 'Valentine's Day Mascara' piece that appeared yesterday.

The elusive street artist has claimed responsibility for the scene, which depicts a 1950s housewife with a black eye and missing tooth, pushing a man into a chest freezer.

The freezer was later removed by council contractors, much to the disbelief of onlookers, but the image of the woman and the legs remains.

Polla Maria Oberczian, who lives in the home-turned-landmark in Grosvenor Place, Margate, originally thought the piece was just fly-tipping.

The 49-year old tenant told KentOnline: "Yesterday morning, my neighbour knocked on my door asking about something else, and I could see a chair by the wall and thought 'what is that?'

"Then I looked over and saw the chest freezer and thought 'who put that there?' The neighbours are putting rubbish outside again."

It wasn't until closer inspection that she saw the artwork.

Ms Oberczian explained the road is usually very quiet, but has been flooded with residents and art fans keen to take a look at the painting.

"Hopefully it doesn’t change my life too much though," she added.

The owner of the building revealed the artwork's future is unclear, and that she is "trying to balance the needs of the tenant and the local art community".

She is said to have contacted a gallery with a view to preserving the Banksy - but the council contractors removed part of it before experts arrived.

It is thought Banksy worked his magic overnight on Sunday.

The mysterious artist posted the piece to his 11 million followers on Instagram this morning.

Among those to descend on Grosvenor Place this morning were Banksy enthusiasts Shauna Shelly and Natalie Sturgess, who travel around the country to see his art.

Thankfully, his most recent work was on their doorstep.

Ms Shelly said: "Natalie woke me up to tell me there was a Banksy in Margate."

Ms Sturgess, 32, added: "We live in Westgate-on-Sea, so we had to come - I’ve never seen her move so fast in the morning."

Ms Shelly, 29, said: "It’s exciting to have one so close to us.

"I was excited when there was one in Dover and Margate’s even closer."

While the future of the art seems uncertain, the social worker believes it might not be around for long - especially now the freezer has been removed.

"I don’t think it will take long before someone paints it over - I think the point is that it doesn’t last forever," Ms Shelly said.

The art now depicts two floating legs - along with the woman who has a black eye and missing tooth.

Charlotte James and Alan Harford, who live just up the road from the street art, were also excited to see Banksy's work in Margate.

Ms James said: "It’s unreal to have a Banksy in Margate.

"I think it’s great for putting Margate on the map - it's a really up and coming place.

"I just feel really privileged to have a piece of work by him on our doorstep."

Photographer Mr Hardford added: "I grew up following him as a character, so it’s nice that it’s not just East London and places like Dover.

"It’s in the little suburbs of Margate, which is a bit tongue in cheek because this town is full of artists anyway."

But it wasn't just locals who came to see the work. Artist Pete Brown had travelled all the way from Bath.

He was originally there to paint the seafront, but struck lucky and instead sat down to illustrate the onlookers at about 7.30am.

"It was spontaneous trip, and I just came across this," he said.

"It was a great surprise."

Fellow street artist Cat Neil, who spray-paints waving cats around Thanet, also visited to bear witness to the art.

"Banksy is certainly controversial," he said.

"I'm really into doing my best for the graffiti scene in Margate so I wanted to come down and take part in the spectacle."