Banksy's Valentine's Day artwork in Bristol ruined by vandals

A piece of street art in Bristol that was this week confirmed as a Banksy has been vandalised.

A picture shared on social media showed "BCC W******" scrawled across the artwork, which depicts a young girl firing roses from a slingshot which then erupt into a playful explosion of red flowers.

The elusive artist confirmed he was behind the piece by posting two images of it on his official Instagram account and website in the early hours of Valentine's Day.

One local resident who spotted the vandalism said: "It's a real shame, but it was always going to happen, unfortunately."

The mural appeared in Marsh Street, in the the Barton Hill area of the city on Thursday.

Residents awoke to find the striking piece, which was instantly linked to Banksy.

Kelly Woodruff, the daughter of Edwin Simons, who owns the rented home on which the artwork appeared, had expressed concern at the potential for Storm Dennis to damage it.

Ms Woodruff, 37, found out about it after being tagged in a Facebook post.

“We’ve been down here all day and it’s just been a complete buzz of excitement,” she said earlier this week.

“There’s so many people coming and enjoying it, taking pictures, it’s fantastic.”