Tottenham's Banksy mural has been removed for sale less than two months after the graffiti artist's Turnpike Lane work went under the hammer at a London auction.
No Ball Games, which shows a boy and a girl throwing a sign which reads ‘no ball games’ in the air, was sprayed on the side of a shop on the corner of Philip Lane and Tottenham’s High Road four years ago.
Its removal has prompted an outcry from residents furious at losing another piece of their heritage.
Ian Pereire, 48, of Philip Lane, said: “I feel like Tottenham has been violated.
“That piece of graffiti was for the community, it put a smile on people faces and it's been taken with any consideration for the community.
“I think all the Banksy art work in London is going to be taken off walls and sold off with no respect for the people of this city.”
The mural’s site is currently covered by scaffolding and wooden hoarding as replastering is taking place.
In February, Banksy’s Slave Labour, which shows a young boy hunched over a sewing machine making Union Jack bunting, was removed from the side of Poundland in Whymark Avenue, Wood Green.
After an initial sale on a US online auction site was called off, it was eventually sold at an auction in Covent Garden on June 2 by the Sincura Group.
The same group has taken over the management of the Tottenham piece and claims that it has been removed to be "sensitively restored to its former glory” with a view to sale in 2014.
The money from the sale will go to a Harringay charity Step by Step, which works with disabled children and their families and carers in Haringey.
It will be one of three headline pieces in The Sincura Group’s 2014 Art Exhibition.
Taslima Khatoon, of the Tottenham Art Group, said that while it is sad the mural has been taken down, at least the money will be going to a good cause.
She said: “Street art is there for the community to appreciate, enjoy and look after.
“I know the community is very upset and the situation with the Wood Green Banksy will only make this worse.
“The only positive thing we can take away is that the money will go towards a good cause."
In a statement from Haringey Borough Council a spokesman said the authority is trying to contact the owners of the building to find out more information.
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