Banksy anti-immigration birds mural in Clacton-on-Sea destroyed

The artist posted two photos of the stencil on his websiteA new Banksy mural showing a group of pigeons holding anti-immigration banners has been destroyed following a complaint the work was "racist".

The mural in Clacton-on-Sea - where a by-election is due to take place following the local MP's defection to UKIP - appeared this week.

It showed four pigeons holding signs including "Go Back to Africa", while a more exotic-looking bird looked on.

The local council, which removed it, said it did not know it was by Banksy.

Tendring District Council said it received a complaint that the mural was "offensive" and "racist".

The artist, who chooses to remain anonymous, posted pictures of the work on his website earlier.

But by the time it had been announced, the mural had already been removed due to the complaint received on Tuesday.

Nigel Brown, communications manager for the council, said: "The site was inspected by staff who agreed that it could be seen as offensive and it was removed this morning in line with our policy to remove this type of material within 48 hours.

"We would obviously welcome an appropriate Banksy original on any of our seafronts and would be delighted if he returned in the future."

A spokeswoman for Banksy said the artist would not be commenting further on the Clacton piece.

Banksy's work often makes political statements, covering subjects including global warming, wars,surveillanceandpoor working conditions.

In the past, his art has been cut from walls and sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds.Banksy Cheltenham Spy Booth artwork 'to be removed'

The scaffolding company said the artwork would be gone by Tuesday

A Banksy artwork in Cheltenham will be removed, the company that erected scaffolding around it has confirmed.

"Spy Booth", depicting men "snooping" on a telephone box,appeared on a private house in Hewlett Road in April.

On Wednesday, Q Scaffolding erected wooden panels around it, prompting fears from locals it would be removed.

Now John Joyce, of Q, has said the homeowner was paid for the work, which will be auctioned and he expected could fetch up to 1m.

'Not illegal'Mr Joyce said part of the work would be removed "on Friday", and part of it "on Sunday or Monday", before being taken to London for the sale on 4 July.

He explained the landlord of the property had sold the piece for an undisclosed amount.

"We are not doing anything illegal. We are preserving Banksy's legacy," he said,

He added that by removing the artwork it would protect it and "stop it being vandalised".

Earlier, Cheltenham Borough Council said it believed the owner of the house had arranged for scaffolding to be erected in order to repair rendering on the wall.

The artwork in Hewlett Road has attracted hordes of visitors since it appeared on 13 April

People living nearby guarded the site overnight to ensure the work was not removed.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said there was an increased presence of officers in the area because of "social tension" that has developed among residents who do not want to see it go.

Cheltenham's Liberal Democrat MP Martin Horwood earlier said he would be "disappointed" if the owner of the house decided to sell the work.

At the beginning of June, Banksy admitted painting it - three miles away from the government listening post, GCHQ.

Since then "Spy Booth" has attracted hordes of visitors.