I spotted a mystery man in a bowler hat outside Banksy's famous artwork – I think he's the elusive artist | The Sun
A MYSTERY man in a bowler hat has sparked rumours he is Banksy after he was spotted watching builders tear down the artist's latest work.
A group of builders today claimed Banksy himself watched on as they destroyed his latest piece in Broomfield, near Herne Bay, Kent, on Thursday.
Banksy took to Instagram to post images of the artwork, which showed the silhouette of a cat and a boy pushing apart curtains constructed from corrugated iron.
The scene was painted on the side of a 500-year-old former farmhouse just hours before it was due to be flattened.
The remains of the mural, called Morning is Broken, have since been fished out of a nearby skip.
Contractors and others who live nearby claim they saw a man dressed in a long black coat and glasses at the site.
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Sofia Akin said she saw the strangely dressed man take pictures on a mobile phone at around 9.30am.
She said: "I went to speak to the builders and ask for further details.
"Before I had the chance, a man appeared in a long black coat, bowler hat and glasses, seeming mysterious.
"The contractors said 'that's Banksy, we saw him yesterday, he was here taking a picture of the mural'.
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"The men were all asking if he was Banksy, including some dog walkers that passed and he just laughed, not denying it."
'It was like finding treasure'
Adam Brooks, who lives nearby, said workmen spotted a man in dark clothes taking a picture of the building, not long before the photos were uploaded to Banksy's Instagram.
Mr Brooks said: "I spoke to the builders and they said they had seen someone in black on the hill this morning taking a photo of the building but did not think anything of it."
While Mr Brooks was speaking with the contractors, others on the site managed to find a large piece of rubble which had most of the artwork on.
He said: "It was like finding treasure. I have a couple of Banksy prints but not originals.
"To see a piece that had freshly come off a building was pretty cool. It was like the holy grail coming out of a skip."
Workmen at the site said they "felt sick" after finding out the stencilled image at Blacksole Farm – which has been earmarked for 67 homes – was a genuine Banksy.
Now, Banksy expert John Brandler has said he would "love to restore" the piece and display it in Dover museum.
He said: "We can restore this. This isn't a major disaster if we are given access to the property and can sort it out."
Mr Brandler could not say how much the destroyed art could be worth, but that it would "depend on how much is salvageable, how much can be restored and how much would be original".
He added: "To rebuild it, what we would do is get the two sheets of metal, we'd get the surface it was painted on and the surrounding bricks to create the original picture.
"We would then mount it on a backing material so it doesn't fall apart."
The elusive artist's identity is unknown
Despite the excitement, someone who claims to know the famous artist has claimed pictures of the strange man aren't of Banksy.
The elusive graffiti artist's identity has never been officially confirmed.
In 2003 a journalist who met the then 28-year-old artist, described him as "white, scruffy casual – jeans, T-shirt, a silver tooth, silver chain and silver earring".
He looks like a cross between Jimmy Nail, from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, and Mike Skinner of The Streets, the journalist claimed.
Some five years later a picture emerged of a man in Jamaica who was said to be Banksy.
The photograph was allegedly of Robin Gunningham, who grew up in Bristol.
Other reports suggested Banksy is artist and musician Robert del Naja of Massive Attack, who is also a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective the Wild Bunch.
In 2020, Art Attack presenter Neil Buchanan was forced to deny a bizarre conspiracy theory that he was Banksy.
'Morning Has Broken' was the fourth Banksy piece in Kent.
The third was a woman in 50s-era dress painted on the side of a home in nearby Margate, called Valentine's Day Mascara.
It will be relocated to Dreamland on the seaside town's promenade.
The artist created a giant Brexit mural in Dover, but it was mysteriously whitewashed in 2019.
There are now plans for it to be recreated when the building is redeveloped.
Banksy's first work in the county was a piece called Art Buff in Folkestone.
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That was also removed and sent to America where it went up for auction but failed to sell.
It is now back in the town and on display in the Old High Street.
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