Man who spotted new Banksy feels like he ‘won the lottery’

By Hannah Van De Peer via SWNS

A Banksy fan reckons he could have found the artist's sixth piece in six days - this time in north-west London.

Simon Stephenson, 53, was on his way to Lidl this morning (Sat) when he spotted an animal silhouette on a billboard on Edgware Road in Cricklewood.

The artwork shows a large cat - a tiger, according to Simon - stretching out.

As a longtime Banksy collector, he says he “immediately knew” the artist was responsible.

The famed guerilla tagger is yet to claim the piece, but has been unveiling similar black stencil designs all this week.

He started with a goat on Monday, while an image of two elephants was released on Tuesday.

Three monkeys hanging from a bridge appeared on Wednesday, and a howling wolf on a satellite dish was seen on Thursday - which within hours was believed to have been stolen.

Two pelicans appeared above a fish and chip shop yesterday.

So far Banksy has been confirming pieces as his with 1pm posts on his Instagram page.

Simon said: “I saw it at 8 am this morning - I just glanced at it initially. I’ve been collecting all his work anyway, for the last 20 years - I knew immediately it was him.

“Nobody’s paid any attention to it. It could be a priceless artwork and they just see it as rubbish in the street.”

“It looks like a tiger breaking down a billboard. Such a clever use of the medium.”

It is currently unclear if the silhouette appeared this morning.

The most recent Google Street View - from June 2022 - shows the billboard being used for a tool company advert.

Banksy's team has been approached for comment.