Banksy: Thousands queue in Bristol for Colston statue t-shirts

People queuing outside Rough Trade in Bristol, one of five stores selling Banksy's t-shirts. Credit: PA

Thousands of people queued for hours in Bristol to get their hands on a limited edition t-shirt designed by Banksy.

The elusive street artist posted details on Instagram of where hopeful fans could buy one of the shirts, with the locations announced on local radio station Ujima FM.

Rough Trade, Hakuna Matata, That Thing, Friendly Records and Frontline Videos were the five stores selected by Banksy to sell the one-off tops.

At £30 each and strictly one per customer, queues stretched down streets and around corners soon after the locations were revealed - with some standing in line for up to three hours.

Credit: PA

The printed items feature the word 'Bristol' and an empty statue plinth - a reference to the toppling of Edward Colston's statue during a Black Lives Matter march last year.

The artist has pledged to donate proceeds to the 'Colston Four' - the four people charged with criminal damage in connection with the incident.

'I've been to Palestine to see a Banksy - Bristol's not too far!'

One man, who studies in Bristol, said he ran to the store after hearing it announced on-air.

"Woke up, half past eight so I could listen to the radio station, wasn't working because the website had crashed," he said.

"Found out, finally got in. Listen, the moment I heard I stopped cooking whatever, left the kitchen and came."

Three Banksy fans started their journey from London at 4am to make it to Bristol in time, with one saying: "I've been to Palestine just to see a Banksy, so Bristol's not too far!

People had travelled from as far away as London, Birmingham and Wales to get a t-shirt.

"As soon as it happens, you just go to see a Banksy, whether it's for a bit of graffiti or something else."

The shops picked to distribute the t-shirts said they were proud to be part of the event.

Tyler Haken, who works at Rough Trade Bristol, said: "It's been absolutely wonderful. The energy is massive, people have come from all over the country.

"So yeah, it really means a lot to all of us to be able to do this in our humble little shop."

Shortly after the tills were opened, some of the t-shirts were listed to buy online for as much as £2,500.