The owners of a house in Bristol have apparently pulled out of the sale of the property after a Banksy piece appeared on the wall.
On Thursday, the anonymous street artist confirmed he was behind the artwork showing an older woman sneezing out her false teeth, which has appeared on a semi-detached house in steep Vale Street, Totterdown.
The stencil mural, Aachoo!!”, had been covered up before its unveiling on Thursday morning.
It shows a woman in a headscarf holding a handkerchief but dropping her walking stick and handbag as she loses her dentures while sneezing.
Banksy confirmed on his website and Instagram account on Thursday afternoon that the work was his. In a photograph posted by him, the woman appears to be blowing over a wheelie bin and a man’s umbrella with her sneezing.
Vale Street is England’s steepest residential street – its 22-degree slope used during annual Easter Sunday egg-rolling competitions.
ITV News West Country spoke to the owners of the house, which had a sold sign up outside, and were told they have pulled out of the sale. They were due to exchange contracts next week but the artwork could see the value of their house rocket.
Nicholas Makin, whose mother Aileen owns the property, said people had been climbing over the house to get a better look at the new piece. He told ITV News West Country that his mother was distressed by the attention and they will take time to consider what to do next.
Fred Loosmore, 28, a furniture maker who until recently rented a room in the house, told the PA Media news agency he had put a clear covering over it for protection.
“We wanted to come up because people will deface it, and luckily we’ve got a workshop and a massive piece of acrylic we’ve got left over,” he said.
“When we lived here so many people would come, especially on bikes and stuff because they were trying to do the challenge up the hills. It’s a great spot. The artwork is so nice. It’s so relevant, isn’t it?”
On Thursday, people came to see and photograph the artwork. Jason Bartlett, 47, who grew up nearby, told the BBC: “I heard it on the news and I thought I’ve got to go and take a look. It’s going to get interesting for whoever owns the house I suppose.”
It is not the first Banksy to spring up during the pandemic. In October, the artist confirmed he was responsible for a mural depicting a girl hula-hooping with a tyre that appeared in Lenton, Nottingham.
In July, he also claimed responsibility for graffiti entitled If You Don’t Mask, You Don’t Get on a London Underground carriage depicting rats sneezing and others in face masks. It was later removed by Transport for London under its anti-graffiti policy.
PA Media contributed to this report
