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The man who defaced a Banksy mural in Birmingham is 'a graffiti artist who claims he daubed paint on the famous artwork in a homeless protest.'

Large crowds flocked to Vyse Street in the Jewellery Quarter after Banksy painted two flying black and white reindeer next to a bench, near the train station over the weekend.

It was verified as real after the artist released a video on his Instagram page showing a homeless man called 'Ryan' lying on the now iconic bench next to the mural.

But on Monday night BirminghamLive told how the paint work was 'defaced by a vandal' who reportedly shouted out "shall i tag it?" before spraying red noses on the reindeers.

Graffiti artist 'Hers' contacted BirminghamLive on Tuesday claiming he added the red noses to the wall.

(Image: Hers)

The 25-year-old, from Quinton, says he is a huge fan of Banksy and only spray painted the noses red as 'a subtle change.' He is pictured lying on the bench with a tin of red spray paint in his hand moments before the mural was defaced.

He has come under fire on social media for spray painting the priceless Banksy mural - but he defended his actions saying he needed to make a point.

He said: "I am a huge fan of Banksy as I am also a graffiti artist and follow him on Instagram. When I saw the video I went straight over to Vyse Street to take a look.

"What annoyed me was the fact that the mural was all about homelessness but then lots of money was being spent on guarding the mural. Why not spend that money helping homeless people?

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"It annoyed me so I went and got a tin of red spray paint. I had a picture taken on the bench and then I went and sprayed the reindeer's noses red."

(Image: Hers)

He said people begged him not to do it and there was 'screaming and shouting' when he sprayed the mural.

He added: "There was a lot of people having a go so I walked off. I don't regret doing it. I have quite enjoyed the debate which has been taking place since i did it. I just hope people will start concentrating more on the homeless issue now rather than who painted the reindeer noses red."

A member of the public, a woman, then tried to remove the sprayed red noses.

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Workmen have since been using perspex sheeting to protect the Banksy artwork from further vandalism. People have been taking to Twitter to react to the vandalism.

Georgina C took said: "Doesn’t surprise me....always someone who wants to ruin something special."

Jill G said: "I despair!"

De Rossi posted: "As if Banksy actually came & left an interesting piece in Birmingham and we vandalized it within 48 hours. We don’t deserve nice s***."

Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist, vandal, political activist, and film director, active since the 1990s.

The news of the sighting spread across social media.

@colinoutnabout wrote: “God Bless #Birmingham #Banksy highlights #homelessness.”

Stand Agency tweeted: “drawing attention to homelessness this #Christmas in Birmingham in his trademark hard-hitting fashion.

“It’s also heart-warming to hear about the kindness and generosity of people walking past as this was being filmed.”

He displays his art on public surfaces such as walls and self-built physical prop pieces.