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A street artist has claimed to be behind the the "Never liked this Banksy" graffiti that appeared in 2013 beneath Banksy's Love Plane on Rumford Street, which was later cut out of the wall and sold. Silent Bill, an anonymous street artist from Merseyside, told the ECHO he created the piece as a tongue in cheek homage to the artist, and said the decision to sell it for £250,000 was "appalling."
Silent Bill also criticised the cutting out of the original mural, which was sold to a collector in Los Angeles for more than 200,000 euros at auction. He said: "The pieces were a gift from Banksy to the people of Liverpool and were never intended to be cut out and become rich people's trophies."
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He said it was "most appalling" that artwork sold for that amount of money when "there are record numbers of people sleeping on the streets and struggling financially".
Scouse traders 'overwhelmed' by support after taking up spot on Pier Head for Eurovision
A pair of Scouse street traders who run a deli van on the Pier Head said they reluctantly decided to pay £6,000 of fees after they were given a pay or leave ultimatum. Patsy Murphy and Rebecca Molloy said they were invited to set up the van in the Pier Head spot in 2010, though weeks ago were told they would need to pay £6,000 or leave as they sat on a site designated for Eurovision festivities.
Devastated owner of gym destroyed by fire 'put whole heart and soul into the place'
A gym has been forced to close after a huge fire engulfed a neighbouring warehouse. CrossFit River Mersey has been run for 10 years by owner Kev Hulse. He said he arrived to the gym on Monday to find firefighters and a cordon in place after a fire had started in the early hours.
He said: "We were just hoping and praying everything would be OK," adding: "It's more than a gym to me, it's my life."
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