GRAFITTI in the style of the elusive artist Banksy have been spotted on a derelict building in Astley Bridge.

Van driver Stuart Yates was driving along Blackburn Road with his partner Rebecca Woods when they saw the images of rats stencilled on the plywood boarding of an old building opposite McDonald’s.

The art is similar to the type painted by Banksy, a British graffiti artist who tours the world leaving satirical works on streets, walls and bridges.

The markings in Bolton show two rats, one with a nuclear symbol on its chest, and the other carrying a rose-shaped fork.

Mr Yates, from Tonge Moor, said he couldn’t believe what they had seen.

The 36-year-old said: “We nearly crashed the car when we spotted them.

“We drove on a bit further, before deciding to turn back and take a closer look.

“If it’s not Bansky’s work, then they’re either really good copies, or somebody is particularly good with a stencil.”


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In 2008 The Bolton News reported how graffiti with the hallmarks of Banksy appeared under a motorway bridge at Crown Lane, Horwich — but it was never proven to be his work.

A self-confessed Banksy fan, Mr Yates added: “He's just come back to the UK from America where he has been living so he could have been passing through with spray can. You’ve got to love the magic and mystery of the guy, whoever he is.”