Fury as missing Banksy Poundland mural up for auction in US

A Stencil by guerrilla street artist Banksy which appeared just before the Queen's Diamond Jubilee has disappeared from a wall in North London and is being auctioned in Miami for as much as £450,000, Daily Telepraph reports.

The mural, painted on the side of a Poundland in Turnpike Lane in May last year, shows a small boy sewing Union Jack bunting and was interpreted as a comment on child labour.

The Poundland where the artwork appeared was the centre of controversy three years ago after it was discovered that a child aged 7 worked over a hundred hours a week in an Indian factory to produce some of the goods on sale.

There has been outcry at the removal of the Banksy mural which had become a tourist attraction in the area.

Councillor Alan Strickland said locals were "angry" and is campaigning for its return to the area.

"Residents have been really shocked and really astonished," he said. "Banksy gave that piece of art to our community, and people came from all over London to see it."

He added that residents were "disappointed" that a "piece of art that was given freely has been taken away from them and sold for an enormous profit".

In December Banksy contested the right of a Miami gallery to sell works which had been on pubic walls and signs. The pieces appeared in an exhibition called Banksy Out of CONTEXT organised by gallerist Stephan Keszler.