Has Banksy been busy again? Mural of kite-flying child appears on brick wall in Winchester

A suspected Banksy mural showing a child holding a colourful kite on a string was today spotted on a brick wall.

Locals were stunned to find the street artist’s graffiti-style artwork on the wall next to a footpath on the outskirts of Winchester, Hampshire.

As part of the black and white piece, which was discovered by local resident Liz Kavanagh, a real kite is attached to the child’s hand by a piece of string.

Locals were stunned to find the street artist’s graffiti-style artwork on the wall next to a footpath on the outskirts of Winchester, Hampshire

Ms Kavanagh, 48 and editor of Winchester Magazine, spotted the mural on a wall near the Handlebar Cafe, north of the city, while on a walk this morning.

She said: ‘We regularly walk the dog down there and it’s a sort of well-known Winchester hang-out spot for families. You don’t expect to see that sort of thing down there.

The anonymous street artist is known to create his masterpieces under the cover of darkness. This mural is in the same style of the elusive artist

‘Winchester is quite a middle class place so this is nice to see, something a bit more edgy than what you would normally find here.  

‘The people I spoke to don’t seem to mind if it’s a Banksy or not, they just think it’s nice to see something like this and the possibility that it could be genuine is very exciting.

‘Winchester people love quirky. We don’t often get that in our city so that’s why this is a bit more of a big deal.

‘After posting the photo my social media has been absolutely manic with local people sharing it. I think it has reached more than 5,000 people already.

‘It’s obviously in the same style as Banksy’s other artworks so who knows, maybe Winchester does have its very own Banksy now. We will just have to wait and see.’

A Banksy piece, entitled ‘Aachoo!’ and valued at £5 million was this week removed from the external wall of a £300,000 semi-detached property in Totterdown, Bristol, after appearing overnight in December.

It not known who the buyer is.

Banksy also took to social media this month to claim responsibility for a mural which appeared overnight on the walls of a Victorian jail where Oscar Wilde was famously held.

The painting, which depicts a prisoner attempting to escape over the wall with a typewriter in his hand, was etched onto the side of HMP Reading.

Banksy’s piece, the ‘Aachoo!!’ artwork, appeared overnight on the side of a property in Bristol on December 10

Banksy has confirmed responsibility for the artwork which appeared overnight on the walls of HMP Reading

The prison is renowned as the location where Irish poet Oscar Wilde was incarcerated from 1895-1897 for committing ‘gross indecency’ and went on to inspire his final published work ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’.

Just months earlier, a mural of a little girl hula hooping with what appeared to be a bicycle tyre was painted on a brick wall on the side of a beauty parlour in Lenton, Nottingham.

The anonymous street artist is known to create his masterpieces under the cover of darkness.

He will often confirm he is the creator of a piece of artwork by posting images of them on Instagram or on his website.

Establishing himself as the world’s most elusive artist, the ‘graffiti guerrilla’, who began his street art 25 years ago, has seen his works coveted by collectors and celebrities including the Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Last year a mural of a little girl hula hooping with what appeared to be a bicycle tyre was painted by Banksy on a brick wall in Lenton, Nottingham