A new mural by street artist Banksy has been defaced in southeast London.
The image, which shows a rhinoceros climbing onto a Nissan Micra with a traffic cone on its bonnet, was spray-painted with a tag by a man wearing a black balaclava at around 19:45 CEST.
Stephanie Lester, a witness who spoke to BBC News, said the man “walked away from a cheering crowd”.
It had previously appeared in Charlton and was confirmed on Banksy’s Instagram account.
The now disfigured rhino was Banksy’s eighth new London work within eight days.
Another witness, Devan Vadukul, told the BBC that a “random youth” wearing a balaclava “brazenly approached the installation and smeared a graffiti tag on it.”
He added: “The entire incident occurred within less than 30 seconds before he disappeared with another male accomplice further down the street.”
The incident came a day after Banksy painted swimming piranhas on a City of London Police station, which was first discovered on Sunday morning.
The translucent fish was the seventh work in a series of animal-themed art works throughout the capital.
On Monday, the City of London Corporation announced that the artwork had been moved to a “safe location”.
A spokesman said: “We have taken the artwork to Guildhall Yard to ensure it is appropriately protected and safely accessible to the public for viewing.
“A permanent location for the piece will be decided in due course.”
On August 5, a goat appeared on the side of a building near Kew Bridge, followed by an image of two elephants touching trunks on the side of a house in Chelsea on Tuesday.
Three monkeys hanging from a bridge in Brick Lane attracted crowds on Wednesday.
P.A.On Thursday, a howling wolf was installed on a satellite dish on a garage roof in Peckham, making it look like the animal was howling at the moon.
But just a few hours later, men were seen taking it down and carrying it down Rye Lane.
The artist has no connection with the theft of the wolf design and does not condone it. In addition, he has “no knowledge of the current whereabouts of the bowl,” confirmed Banksy’s press team.
Getty ImagesOn Friday, residents of Walthamstow woke up to see two pelicans fishing above a fish shop.
And on Saturday, a stencil of a stretching cat appeared on a blank billboard in Cricklewood.
BanksyThe crowd booed as the billboard was taken down in Cricklewood by three men who said they had been “hired” by a “construction company” to take down the billboard for safety reasons.
On Monday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC discharged a jury at the historic Old Bailey Court after it was unable to reach a verdict in a trial over a death caused by careless driving, suggesting that the jury could instead enjoy the weather with a visit to the nearby Banksy Museum.
