Two men charged with burglary after theft of Banksy 'Girl with Balloon' artwork
Two men have been charged after an artwork by Banksy was stolen last weekend, Amy Lewis reports
The Metropolitan Police have charged two men with burglary after a famous Banksy artwork was stolen from a London gallery.
Larry Fraser, 47, and James Love, 53, were charged on Thursday with non-residential burglary and remanded in custody.
Both men appeared appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court, and have been bailed to appear next at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday, October 9.
It follows an investigation by the Met's Flying Squad into a burglary at Grove Gallery in New Cavendish Street, Westminster, on Sunday, September 8.
Watch: CCTV captured the moment a man broke into a west London gallery and stole a Banksy artwork (Credit: Grove Gallery)
The only item stolen during the incident was Banksy's 'Girl with Balloon' piece, which, according to court documents, has a "value of £270,000".
Police have since recovered the artwork and are in the process of returning it to the gallery.
Girl with Balloon is a series of artworks, with the piece at the west London gallery one of multiple versions.
Another version of the painting partially self-destructed at the conclusion of a 2018 auction in which it had been sold for £1.1 million.
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The canvas was passed through a secret shredder hidden inside the large frame, leaving the bottom half in tatters and only a solitary red balloon left on a white background in the frame.
The partially-shredded piece, entitled Love Is In The Bin, was sold for £18,582,000 in London by auction house Sotheby's in October 2021.
Banksy, an anonymous street artist, made headlines in August when he unveiled nine pieces of art across London over nine successive days.
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