Photo by Walt Jabsco, courtesy Flickr

Banksy's mural "The Mild Mild West"

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The group sprayed lines of red paint across Banksy’s mural titled The Mild Mild West, which is located on a wall in the neighborhood of Stokes Croft. The mural depicts a giant teddy bear in conflict with a line of policemen. In 2007, the mural was voted Bristol’s favorite alternative landmark in an online poll. 

Appropriate Media claims that the vandalism was a protest against the gentrification of the Stokes Croft area, saying that "graffiti artists are the performing spray-can monkeys for gentrification." The community, including local business owners and residents, came together to clean and restore the mural.

Oli Wells, director of Coexist, an organization responsible for the area’s refurbishment, said "I'm confused at the message from whoever did it. We're fully aware of the nature of Stokes Croft being an outdoor gallery and therefore open to all sorts of interpretation and retaliation, but we can't understand why they've made the Banksy a target."