An art collector who owned a Banksy worth £40,000 has shredded it in an attempt to imitate the artist’s latest stunt – but has now made the piece almost worthless.

Art experts were contacted by one owner who wanted to sell their print of the Girl With a Balloon which hit international headlines after Banksy shredded it with a remote device just seconds after it sold for more than £1 million.

The bungling seller had tried to imitate the destruction by slicing strips using a stanley knife, and wanted it to be sold for £80,000, double what he had paid for it.

The bungling seller had tried to imitate the destruction by slicing strips using a stanley knife, and wanted it to be sold for £80,000, double what he had paid for it (Picture: My Art Broker)

The print was one of just 600 mint condition prints in the world, but the experts have now valued it at under £1 (Picture: My Art Broker)

The print was one of just 600 mint condition prints in the world, but the experts refused to accept it, and have slammed the ‘crazy’ decision as ‘opportunistic vandalism’.

To add insult to injury, it has now been valued to be worth less than £1.

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Banksy shocked the art world when his iconic piece self-destructed at Sothebys’s in London on Friday night.

The framed, stencil spray painting shows a girl reaching towards a heart-shaped balloon and had been the final piece sold, equalling Banksy’s previous auction record of £1.04 million.

However, in a twist to be expected from street art’s most subversive character, the canvas suddenly passed through a shredder installed in the frame and the 2006 piece lay in tatters.

He then revealed that he had placed the shredder in the frame years ago, in case it was ever sold at auction.

Although its new owner, who has not been named, may have had a nasty shock, they are no doubt thrilled that the artwork has now doubled in value.

Experts, My Art Broker, had to warn people not to shred their Banksy pieces after receiving queries whether it would increase the value and said it was a ‘crying shame’ one of the prints had been destroyed.

They said: ‘We’ve had a number of Banksy print owners contact us today asking if they shred their artwork will it be worth more. Please, Please DON’T. The events of the last 24hrs are a very unique piece of art history.’

Banksy then revealed he had placed the shredder in the frame years ago in case it was ever sold at auction (Picture: PA)

Ian Syer, co-Founder of My Art Broker told MailOnline: ‘When Banksy does something crazy like shredding his own artwork, it will naturally have a dramatic affect on values.

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‘What this person today seems to have done is needlessly ruin a print worth around £40,000 and reduce its value to almost nothing.

‘We strongly recommend nobody else takes valuable art and tries to cash in on what history will judge a simply brilliant stunt.’