Police pounce on would-be Banksy thieves who tried to steal graffiti artist's giant balloon from NY roof

Two would-be Banksy thieves were caught by police after trying to make off with the graffiti artist's latest installation.

The elusive artist finished his month long 'residency' in New York by placing a giant balloon spelling 'Banksy' on an abandoned building in Queens.

Two men were spotted on the grey wall off the Long Island Expressway attempting to steal the large inflatable, only to be cornered by police.

They got the balloon down to ground level, but had already been seen by Banksy fans who alerted officers and waited for them by the building.

Seconds after the thieves got the installation to the ground, they are bundled to the floor by the NYPD.

They had earlier been noticed by police who told the pair: 'You know you are trespassing. You’re on someone’s property.'

After being seized by police, one of the men shouted as he was taken away: 'This sucks! I’m just going to put it up in a museum!'

Police removed the Banksy inflatable, deflated it, and took it to a precinct garage as 'arrest evidence'.

Three men were arrested for criminal trespassing, one of whom was also charged with criminal mischief.

The pair had used a ladder to access the Banksy installation, while one of them jumped from scaffolding onto the roof of a parked car.

The attempted theft emerged soon after the painting Banksy added a Nazi officer to fetched $615,000 at an online auction.