#banksy

#banksy

The first point relates to the illegality of affixing paint on the wall of a building without the owner's consent, which in most cases constitutes the offence of criminal damage, subject to a maximum penalty in England of ten years behind bars. Because this wasn't just any old building but a Grade I listed building, the sentencing guidelines would instruct a judge to impose on a convicted offender a longer sentence within this range.

Last August, a slew of animal-themed Banksy artworks, including a goat perched on top of a small ledge, silhouettes of two elephants in windows reaching their trunks out toward each other, three monkeys swinging along a bridge and two pelicans eating fish, appeared across the capital over nine days, sending street art fans into a frenzy. A few of the pieces, like a howling wolf on a satellite dish in Peckham,