Onlookers in London watched the man remove Banksy's artwork

A man who saw a Banksy artwork on a stop sign being removed just an hour after it was authenticated said he “watched it in awe”.

The artist, who is believed to have been born in Yate, installed the piece featuring three drones in Peckham, south-east London.

Two men were seen taking down the banner at around 12.30 GMT. It is understood that Banksy was not behind the removal.

Alex (26 years old) said he did not know what to do and “we watched what happened.”

The Metropolitan Police said there was no current investigation into the incident, as no one who owned the artwork had come forward to report it stolen.

The piece on Commercial Way was included in photos on his Instagram page on Friday shortly after midday.

During his lunch break, Alex rode a Lime bike to see the piece a man used to stand up to remove artwork.

He added: “This man came and grabbed him, and we watched in awe as he beat him.”

“He fell off a Lyme bike at some point. He disappeared and went away and about two minutes later he reappeared with the bolt cutters and kind of tried and tried and tried while everyone was watching.”

“We said: What are you doing?” But no one really knew what to do, we just watched it happen.

“We were all confused, and there were some car horns.

“I went there thinking people would want it, and I wanted to see him before something happened to him.”

Another witness said that passers-by shouted at the man as he tried to remove the piece of art with the help of another person.

“As soon as it (the art piece) appeared online, a few people went over to see it right away and just kind of wandered around,” they said.

Banksy has installed other pieces this year including Valentine's Mascara, a 3.8-tonne mural that appeared on the side of a house in Margate, Kent, on Valentine's Day.

It depicts a 1950s housewife with a bulging eye and missing teeth, wearing an apron and yellow laundry gloves, throwing a man into a freezer.

In September, it was placed in the lobby of the Art of Banksy gallery in central London, where it can be viewed for free.

Featuring pieces including 'Girl with a Balloon', 'Flower Thrower' and 'Rude Brass', the exhibition also focuses on Banksy's 'Dismaland' installation in Weston-super-Mare, The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem, and recent works that acknowledge With the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The artist often references contemporary issues and in 2020 included messages about the coronavirus pandemic in his works.