A Banksy artwork of a girl hula-hooping with a bike trye has been removed from a brick wall.
The installation has been sold to an art dealer for a “six-figure sum”.
The picture was painted last October on a street corner in Nottingham.
A bike with a missing tyre was chained to a lamppost.
The girl was using the tyre as a hoop-la.
Art collector John Brandler said he plans to have it restored and moved to a museum in Suffolk.
He said the painting had formed mould behind its protective plastic casing – put up to protect the picture.
Mr Brandler added:
“If I hadn’t bought it and removed it, in two years’ time there wouldn’t have been a Banksy there at all.
“I appreciate the council were trying to protect it from vandals coming along but actually it was creating a death sentence for it.
“I am pleased I’ve been able to save it from destruction.”
However, local residents have expressed sadness at the removal of the artwork.
