Banksy-painted building in Lowestoft adds £200k to asking price

The owner of a building, now adorned with a Banksy mural, has put it on the market for an extra £200,000.

The work, of a child with a crowbar next to a sandcastle and lifted paving slab, appeared on the side of an old shop in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in August.

It was previously listed at £300,000 but after Banksy confirmed the work was genuine the owner removed it from sale.

Now re-listed for £500,000, the property's agent said it was "very difficult to establish the value".

The secretive street artist claimed responsibility for 10 pieces of work in Suffolk and Norfolk, created during an East Coast "spraycation".

Danny Steel, managing director of Steel & Co, said: "To a great extent it's really a figure out of the air.

"It's not based on a great knowledge of the value of art."

Mr Steel, whose company listed the property for sale, said the owner had "looked into getting the Banksy lifted and moved, but it's maybe a bigger task than first thought."

He added: "Hopefully it will be staying where it is."

Mr Steel said he had a meeting planned for Thursday with a council officer and an art conservationist to discuss options.

In the meantime, the artwork has been covered in Perspex to "protect it from the elements," he said.

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