ONE of Melbourne's few remaining works by Banksy was destroyed yesterday.

The world-acclaimed artist's Parachuting Rat was destroyed by drilling work for a cafe in Prahran.

The surrounding wall was covered in amateur daubings but the graffitists had respectfully avoided painting over the Banksy, whose works fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It was the third Banksy lost in two years. Vandals damaged one in Fitzroy last August and council workers painted over a Banksy in Hosier Lane in April 2010.

Jacqui Vidal, owner of an adjacent Prahran business, said yesterday it was a devastating loss to the Greville St precinct.

"Had it been 20cm higher or 20cm to the side this would never have happened,'' she told the Stonnington Leader.

"This should have been avoided. It's not a big piece, but it is one of the few remaining Banksys in Melbourne. The workers who were involved in it had no idea what they had done.''

Fletcher Andersen, director and editor of invurt.com, an international webzine devoted to graphic design and street art, said more needed to be done to protect street art from development.

"There needs to be a process,'' he said. "It's always an uphill battle to get people to appreciate street art.

"There was obviously a permit for demolition of part of the wall, but what was lacking was (information) about the street art on the wall and that's something ... all councils need to look at when it comes to approving developments.''

Stonnington Council did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.

Read more at Leader

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