Banksy's Valentine's Day mural vandalised with offensive phrases 

Banksy’s latest Valentine’s day themed mural in Bristol, England, that shows a young girl firing red flowers from a slingshot, has reportedly been vandalised after just 48 hours. The British street artist had confirmed the piece belonged to him by sharing an image of the artwork on his Instagram page and website.

Artwork crawled with an offensive phrase

The street art, which was spotted on the side of a house at Marsh Street in Barton Hill on Thursday, has been scrawled with offensive phrase daubed over the artwork in neon pink letters. A Perspex panel that was placed over the street art to protect it from damage has also been torn down, with the vandals directly defacing Banksy's design, confirmed reports.

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Residents upset over vandalism of masterpiece

British Somali Community Association based in Barton Hill tweeted that the act of vandalism was 'shocking' and asked for a probe into the matter. Kelly Woodruff, the 37-year-old daughter of Edwin Simons who owns the apartment on which Banksy created the artwork, reportedly expressed concern at the potential for Storm Dennis to damage it further.

She told the media that she found out about the offensive graffiti after being tagged in a Facebook post and was exceedingly disappointed. Last week, she said, there had been a buzz of excitement as people gathered down near the artwork, enjoying it and taking pictures all day, appreciating the artwork and speculating that Bansky was behind it.

One of the residents who spotted the vandalism told the media that it was a real shame that a talented artist’s piece was vandalised in this manner despite the protection.

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