The Cheltenham Banksy Cufuffle & "Vansky"

I've written previously about the tourist attraction in Cheltenham "celebrating" GCHQ with a mural depicting staff eavesdropping on a telephone box. It was too good to last - I first realised that something was up when I walked past a couple of weeks ago on the way to the offy and noticed the mural had been boarded up and there was a car parked in front of it labelled "Security".

The first story was that the boarding up was for safety reasons because repairs were needed to the wall. Next, we heard that the Banksy had been sold to a London dealer for £200,000 and was being removed. Then notices went up claiming the wall was a "party wall" which is odd as to a casual observer, it all appears to be part of one house.

Meanwhile, powerful forces were gathering. The pub across the road wanted it kept - obviously it's good for trade. The hammer blow came from a surprising quarter - the local Council...

Just to make sure, the community also took action:

 

 A van has been parked to impede access

 

 It even has a name