A valuable Banksy artwork created during the street artist's 'Great British Staycation' could soon be lost to the sea, a local council has warned. (North Norfolk District Council via SWNS)
By Harry Jackaman-Pegg
A Banksy artwork created during the street artist's 'Great British Spraycation' that could be worth millions may soon be lost to the sea, a local council has warned.
The guerrilla graffiti artist visited Norfolk in August 2021, leaving his mark in coastal towns such as Great Yarmouth and Gorleston.
But perhaps the most difficult of these works is being continually deteriorated by the North Sea on a defence wall in Cromer, Norfolk.
The art once depicted a crab with a shell on its back holding a sign reading 'Luxury Rentals Only', facing a trio of crabs without shells.
But the faded work has since been vandalised, with the words in the speech bubble now covered up with several exclamation marks and question marks above each of the other three crabs.
The Banksy artwork on a seawall before the sea started destroying it. (Vic Blake via SWNS)
Other works in Banksy's Spraycation series have sold at auction for £1m.
Back in 2023, Councillor Tim Adams, leader of North Norfolk District Council (NNDC), said he would be surprised if the Banksy survived the winter, saying it would eventually be 'lost to the sea'.
A year later, NNDC admitted that the work had survived for much longer than most had expected it to.
But questions remain over whether the artwork will last another winter.
On the mural's prospects of surviving this year's colder months, a spokesman for NNDC said: "It's deteriorated further [since 2024], so it’s definitely succumbing to the North Sea, slowly but surely.
"The essence of it is still there, though, even if the original message has been covered over.
"It could very well have one last winter in it. It’s done very well to survive so long - we put a protective spray on there to give it a little bit more life when it was first found, but that would have only extended its life by another winter or so."
The graffiti crabs, on the East Beach, are a major draw for tourism in the seaside town of Cromer.
It has attracted international interest over the years, including a visit from Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK.
The Banksy artwork on a seawall close to beach huts at Cromer in Norfolk. (Serena Lawal via SWNS)
"It was a very nice thing to have for the town," Cllr Adams said.
"We made a conscious decision not to remove it.
"It would’ve been a challenging job as it is on a very big piece of concrete, but we thought the artist’s intention was for it to be left.
"Very few are left in the public realm and are freely accessible.
"It’s also an important message for us, given the housing crisis in north Norfolk.
"Obviously Banksy could pop up again, but I think that’s unlikely."
Other works in the Spraycation series included a miniature thatched stable with the words "Go Big or Go Home" on its side at Merrivale Model Village in Great Yarmouth.
It was later sold for £1m at auction.
A huge seagull painted on the side of a block of flats in Katwijk Way, Lowestoft, was also removed, and it was reported that it could have fetched between £1m and £3m at auction.
Other Banksy works remain in place, including a couple dancing on top of a bus stop on Admiralty Road, in Great Yarmouth, and a painting of children playing in a boat at Nicholas Everitt Park, in Oulton Broad.