Artwork on raised bridge in the City of Culture was painted over by vandals

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A window cleaner from Hull has been hailed a hero for saving a new Banksy mural that was completely covered in white paint by vandals.

The artwork, which depicts a young boy raising a sword-like pencil with the words “Draw the raised bridge!”, was discovered on a permanently raised bridge in the city last week.

The stencil drew large crowds to an industrial area in the 2017 City of Culture, after Banksy used his verified Instagram account to confirm it was his work.

However, within 48 hours the mural had been completely daubed in white paint, sparking a furious reaction online.

Residents were angered by the defacing of the artwork, with one Banksy fan saying: “I am absolutely livid with Hull city council for not protecting the Banksy mural. City of Culture, pfffft.”

On Sunday night, local window cleaner Jason Fanthorpe and other residents took matters into their own hands to save the mural.

“There were lots of people turning up and I was just going to bed when I saw it had been destroyed,” Fanthorpe told BBC Radio Humberside. It wasn’t just me that helped, this work is international prestige gifted to the city, and I couldn’t sit back and see nothing happen.

“Being a window cleaner I had the equipment and the ladder, and I tried with just water at first. I was desperate not to destroy it but I had to use white spirit to get it off.”

He added: “It’s a faded Banksy now, but it’s better than a silver blob. There was a lot of talk on the One Hull Of A City Facebook group about the reputation of the city being dragged down, but it’s not right to tarnish the entire city because of the actions of a few.

“The amount of people who were talking about this, if I hadn’t gone down someone else would.”

A Hull city council spokeswoman said it would be covering the artwork with acrylic sheeting later on Monday before coming up with a permanent plan to protect it.