Banksy's Parachuting Rat has been drilled into and destroyed by construction workers fitting a nearby café in the Greville St precinct, Prahran.
According to news.com, this is the third Banksy lost in two years in Melbourne. Vandals damaged a piece in Gore St, Fitzroy, last August and council workers painted over one of Bansky's rat stencils in the BBD's Hosier Lane in April 2010.
“It is very disappointing and ideally it could have been avoided,” says Alex McCulloch director of Metro Gallery who were the last gallery in Melbourne to exhibit Bansky's work in the 2010 show Off The Wall. "The [council] should have protected the work.” states .
But, McCulloch added, "At the end of the day street art is ephemeral... Two builders were just doing their job and didn't not knowing what they were doing."
CORRECTION: The article originally quoted McCulloch as say in "street art is ethereal". McCulloch actually said, "street art is ephemeral." The error was made in subbing and corrected at 3.58pm.
