Workers have removed a Banksy mural from a building in Lowestoft.
On the corner of London Road North and Regent Road, on the side of the former Lowestoft Electrical store, artwork of a young child building a sandcastle with a crowbar had delighted crowds since its appearance in August.
But the artwork was taken down by the building's owner, with workers appearing at the site on Sunday morning (November 14).
On Friday, the mural had been boarded up and a spokesperson for East Suffolk Council said: "We have spoken with the landlord of this property who has confirmed the artwork is being removed."
Crispin Hook, local historian and novelist, watched the mural being lifted from the wall.
"Quite a crowd" had gathered on the street when the workers started the job at 10am, he said.
"It came out with a judder," he added.
Earlier this year, Banksy's Great British Spraycation proved a huge boost to Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth as the coastal resorts bounced back from coronavirus disruption and welcomed holidaymakers from around the UK.
It is not yet clear what the London-based owner of the building plans to do with the artwork.
They had previously taken the building off the market after the Banksy confirmation, before relisting it at £500,000 - an increase of £200,000.
After a scheme to convert the building into three ground floor retail units and eight flats to the first and second floors was approved by East Suffolk Council in May 2020, work started last month.
While the fate of the sandcastle mural remains unclear, three other Banksy artworks remain around Lowestoft.
These are a seagull swooping on a skip on Denmark Road, a group of children in a boat in Nicholas Everitt Park in Oulton Broad and a painting, since defaced, of rat drinking a cocktail on North Beach.
It is not the first time a Banksy has been removed.
In 2019, a mural was taken from a garage wall in Port Talbot in Wales after it had been sold to Essex-based art dealer John Brandler for a six-figure sum.
In May this year, in Nottingham, a painting of a girl hula-hooping with a bicycle tyre that had appeared on the gable of a hair salon was lifted away and sold to the same Mr Brandler.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here