Two men have been charged with burglary after Banksy’s famous Girl With Balloon painting was stolen from a London gallery, police have said.
Larry Fraser, 47, of Beckton, east London, and James Love, 53, of North Stifford, Essex, were charged with non-residential burglary on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said.
They appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates Court the next day and were bailed to appear at Kingston Crown Court on 9 October.
The painting, one of the street artist’s most famous, was stolen from a gallery in New Cavendish Street in London at around 11pm on Sunday 8 September.
Following an investigation by the Met’s flying squad, it has now been recovered and will be returned to the gallery, police added.
A reproduction of Banksy’s London Zoo artwork after it was removed. Pic: AP
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Banksy claimed an unprecedented nine paintings in nine days this summer after they appeared at various locations around London.
The street artist usually leaves months between pieces, but the animal-themed works continued to pop up one day after the other.
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Fifth Banksy mural in his animal series in Walthamstow, northeast London. Pic: PA
The fourth in the series, a silhouette of a howling wolf painted on a satellite dish, was stolen within hours of appearing in Rye Lane, Peckham, southeast London.
People wearing balaclavas were seen approaching the flat roof building it was on with a ladder, before climbing up and removing the dish.
The last of the nine images, a gorilla painted onto a shutter at London Zoo, was removed by staff for “safe-keeping”.