Masked vandals have destroyed Melbourne's iconic Hosier Lane - and instead of stopping them locals just stood back and filmed on their phones.

Footage posted to Instagram on Sunday showed at least ten people with face masks and paint-filled fire extinguishers defacing the inner-city lane way famous for its urban art.

As the group stormed the tourist hotspot with makeshift spray guns on Saturday night, not a single onlooker attempted to stop the world-famous murals being ruined.

Footage posted to Instagram on Sunday showed at least ten people with face masks paint bombing the inner-city laneway famous for urban art

A drone could also be seen flying above the commotion, filming the attack.

'These dudes with face masks carrying fire extinguisher filled with paint hit up Hosier lane,' the post read.

'A lot of awesome art work was destroyed. I don't know mate but that's just sh*t.'

Police are now hunting the gang of criminals, but many in the underground world of urban art are quietly celebrating the desecration.

Street artists see the brazen attack as an act of 'reclamation' of a space which has become 'too commercial'.

Once targeted by graffiti artists looking to boost their street reputations, Hosier Lane has now become a selfie spot for suburban Melburnians and tourists.

Melbourne street magazine Acclaim Magazine even went so far as to call for it to be torn down.

'Hosier lane is not real, it's a toothless tiger, beautiful to look at and without any threat – and it needs to go,' it stated in an undated article.

'The current state of Hosier is appalling – quality work doesn't exist or disappears instantly, while swarms of paid street art tours and an endless sea of tourists and flood the street.'

As the group stormed the cobblestones with makeshift spray guns, onlookers could be seen filming the commotion rather than trying to stop it

Social media users were baffled by the hostile Saturday night act, which sparked outrage online.

'Why would they do this?' one commenter asked.

'Disappointing,' another said.

But someone else pointed out that artists are likely to cover the damage over the coming days.

'It's legal who cares mate there'll be your pretty murals again in a couple days nothing lasts in that place anyways wouldn't stress it too much.'

rtist works on a graffiti mural in Hosier lane. Hosier lane is a much celebrated landmark in Melbourne mainly due to its sophisticated graffiti urban art

WHY IS HOSIER LANE FAMOUS? Hosier Lane is Melbourne's most iconic street art lane way and is one of the main tourist attractions in Melbourne. In 2010, Banksy used the abandoned street to stencil a rat wearing a parachute. Since then, artists used its walls to make political statements and paint murals of celebrities, including Taylor Swift. Hosier Lane was once voted the best free tourist attraction by Lonely Planet. Advertisement

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp told Daily Mail Australia the attack is 'not in keeping with the spirit of Hosier Lane'.

'We see this act as vandalism particularly given the damage they've done to the pavement and cobblestones.'

'Council contractors attended Hosier Lane this morning to clean the cobblestones and curbing.'

Police are using CCTV footage to identify the perpetrators.

Ms Capp described the attack as 'an extreme act of vandalism' in a statement with police.

'It has caused damage to the city of Melbourne and private property,' she said.

'The random nature in the way the young people used fire extinguishers filled with paint to cover street art that we value is unacceptable.'

Street cleaners can be seen washing paint off cobbled streets of Hosier Lane on Monday morning

‹ Slide me › Before and after: Hosier Lane was covered with vibrant portraits before it was attacked by vandals

Chase Joslin who works on the popular lane way said he'd never seen anything like it.

'Not to this scale,' he told the Herald Sun.

Sometimes people come down and do a big white wall so people can go fresh over it ... But it must be a big deal if they’re coming to clean it up.'

Hosier Lane has become a famous tourist attraction in recent years as artists regularly paint over old murals and showcase their talents.

In January it was home to a mural of a koala fighting fires with a hose to draw attention to the billions of native animals that perished during the 2019/20 bushfire crisis.

In January it was home to a mural of a koala fighting fires with a hose to draw attention to the billions of native animals that perished during the 2019/20 bushfire crisis

A Graffiti covered lane way off Hosier lane during the Meeting of Styles, an internationally renowned graffiti and arts festival with street art completed in Melbourne's iconic laneways

But the famous landmark has also previous been a known site for homeless people and drug addicts.

Shop owners reported troublemakers were targeting a range of people, including tourists.

Photographs from the lane show two men dressed in heavy black coats holding metal pipes from which they smoke an unknown substance.

Another man is seen smoking from a plastic bottle fashioned into a bong as a friend wearing a black baseball cap takes a seat next to him clutching a metal pipe.

Photographs from Melbourne's Hosier Lane show two men dressed in heavy black coats holding metal pipes

Hosier Lane is known for its colourful street art that attracts hordes of tourists every day, but recently it has become a seedy spot. These two men appear to be smoking with a plastic bottle



