Two men charged after Banksy artwork stolen from London gallery

Two men have been charged with burglary after one of Banksy’s best-known artworks was stolen from a gallery in central London.

The theft of Girl With Balloon was investigated by the Metropolitan police’s Flying Squad and the work has now been recovered.

Larry Fraser, 47, from Beckton, east London, and James Love, 53, from North Stifford, Essex, were charged on Thursday with non-residential burglary and remanded in police custody.

An investigation was launched after a gallery in New Cavendish Street was burgled at about 11pm on Sunday. A print of Girl with Balloon was the only artwork stolen and will be returned to the gallery.

According to court documents, the pair allegedly entered Grove Gallery as trespassers and stole a “Girl With Balloon print to the value of £270,000”. The men were bailed at Wimbledon magistrates court on Thursday ahead of an appearance at Kingston crown court on 9 October.

Images of a girl reaching up for a heart-shaped red balloon were stencilled across London by Banksy from 2002. It first appeared on a wall in east London and was also sprayed under Waterloo Bridge.

Limited-edition prints were then made for sale, as well as hand-sprayed versions. Many are highly valuable and fetch large sums at auction.

In 2018, a framed copy of the artwork fetched more than £1m before self-destructing on stage. Moments after the hammer fell, alarms sounded and the canvas dropped through a hidden shredder built into the bottom of the large ornate frame.

The winning bidder decided to keep the purchase and the partially shredded picture was given a new title, Love Is in the Bin. It was sold three years later for a record £18.5m at Sotheby’s in London.