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A Banksy mural depicting spies tapping into a phone booth has been vandalised with spray paint.

This morning red and silver paint was found covering the spybooth artwork which speared overnight in April on a street in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, a few miles from GCHQ.

The Bristol guerrilla artist later confirmed he was the creator of the piece through a link on his website.

Since then, the Cheltenham business community has been attempting to raise funds to keep the piece, which has been sprayed with anti graffiti paint.

A millionaire was in the process of buying the piece but graffiti covering the artwork has appeared, leaving locals racing to save it.

Hekmat Kaveh, a property developer, said he expected to gain ownership of the artwork "within days".

A clean-up operation to remove the graffiti has begun, with volunteers scrubbing it off using a specialist liquid on toothbrushes and cloths.

Experts will be called in to complete the work tomorrow and then Perspex will be placed over it for protection.

Angela De Souza, of Save The Banksy campaign group, said: “Everybody is just really, really upset.

"We were all so delighted and then we heard of the graffiti, it is devastating.

"We were worried about securing the piece but we didn't expect an attack so soon.

"The Banksy is protected by anti graffiti paint but we are in a race against time because the paint could seep through the layer of protection and ruin the artwork."

Builder Martin Burnett, 48, said he was "furious" the Banksy had not been removed from the building.

"I believe what should have happened is it should have been taken off the wall and put in a museum for everyone to view it there," he said.

"It should have been taken away instead of left here for this idiot to come and do this.

"The council should have put a copy of the Banksy here, covered it in perspex and preserved the original."

Mr Kaveh said: "I am absolutely appalled at the graffiti. But it has only given me more determination to make sure that we, Save The Banksy, do actually save it - not just from movement but from vandals.

"I have put up money for the purchase. I can't divulge how much - that is the arrangement between the parties.

"Everybody knows that the asking price was £1 million based on previous Banksy amounts but I can't say if it was above or below that."

Mr Kaveh said he hoped to open a spy museum in the house the Banksy is painted on in the future.

"I just want to say a big thank you to Banksy for doing it in this town and generating so much interest," he said.

"I have lived in Cheltenham since 1975 and I have never heard so much discussion about GCHQ and what this town is about."

Gloucestershire Police appealed for anyone with information about the graffiti to contact them.

Detective Inspector Angela Middlewood said: "We have received a report regarding the Banksy artwork in Cheltenham. Officers are at the scene and enquiries are being carried out."