17-05-2025
We woke up to find a Banksy on our house - we thought it would make us millionaires but it's cost us £400,000 and we wish he had never bothered
A couple have complained that waking up to a Banksy artwork on the side of their property has cost them £400,000.
Gert and Gerry Coutts, who live in Enfield, north London, were renting the Suffolk property out when tenants called them in August 2021 to say scaffolding had suddenly appeared.
Mr Coutts and his wife thought it was the council fixing a chimney, only for the rigging to disappear the next day - with the piece of artwork, later verified to be a Banksy, in its place.
The artwork was comprised of a 14-foot seagull mural on the wall of the Lowestoft house, with a skip placed next to the house filled with insulation to look like a tray of chips.
It attracted global attention and soon the property was being visited by hundreds of tourists a day.
But while the owners initially thought the development might make them rich, they have now accused 'a**ehole' Banksy of acting without 'giving a damn about the consequences'.
Mr Coutts told the Sun: 'I'm completely depressed and sick about it.
'I've done everything I can, tried to do the right things, and me and my wife have just had the p**s taken out of us.
'I'm so angry about what has gone on because of that a**ehole Banksy. It's as simple as that.'
Rod, who co-owns the house with the Coutts, added: 'To us he's an uncaring, unthinking person who has had a massive detrimental impact.'
Within a short space of time, their renters were faced with queues built up around the house and one man even stole the property's scaffolding from a skip, and attempted to sell it on Facebook for £1,600.
The couple said what they first thought of as a 'gift' turned into a nightmare.
The 22-tonne artwork was finally removed overnight in April after the couple hired a building firm and council officials approved closing the road.
Initially, it was estimated the artwork could be worth some £3 million, but the couple told how they were informed the council wished to put a preservation on the artwork, which would make the owners liable for an annual £40,000 upkeep.
Ms Coutts said: 'So, there you go Banksy. Does he realise what the consequences are of his art work - or does he care?'
Instead, they eventually arranged for the entire wall to be removed at a cost of some £200,000 - but still pay £3,000 per month to keep it in storage while looking for a buyer.
The decision to take down the artwork proved highly controversial in the town, with passersby accusing the owners of 'stealing' the artwork from the public.
Speaking to the Mail previously, retired roofing contractor Mr Coutts said: 'At first it was obviously incredible but as things have gone on it has become extremely stressful. I'm not sure Banksy realises the unintended consequences on homeowners. If we could turn back the clock, we would.
'We had the council get in touch to tell us that they could put a preservation order on the piece and we would be responsible for maintaining it at a cost of £40,000 a year.
'I have had to hire a night watchman to look after it after someone stole part of it and tried to sell it on Facebook. Another time vandals were caught with a dozen pots of white paint and were apparently going to paint over it.'
