This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The guerrilla graffiti artist Banksy has confirmed that he is the creator of an artwork showing trenchcoat-wearing, sunglass-sporting spies close to the surveillance agency GCHQ.

Dubbed Spy Booth, the image of three spooks equipped with listening devices and surrounding a phone box appeared in April on the corner of two residential streets in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

It was suspected that the work was by Banksy, but the artist has confirmed it on the Q&A section of his website. Asked: "Did you paint the spies in Cheltenham?" He replied: "Yes."

When the wall art appeared, resident Karen Smith told the Gloucestershire Echo that she woke up on a Sunday morning to see men packing away equipment into the back of a van.

"I thought it might be something to do with the police, like when a crime happens. I saw these people looking and then saw the graffiti. It's pretty good. It livens up the street." The work, on the corner of Fairview Road and Hewlett Road, has already drawn hundreds of fans.

The admission comes in the wake of the storm over surveillance by GCHQ and the National Security Agency revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden.