Street artist claims he created ‘Banksy artwork’ bought for £250,000

Liverpool artist Silent Bill says he stencilled work depicting rat that was auctioned for Channel 4 TV show

A street artist from Liverpool has claimed to be the real creator of a stencil of a rat attributed to Banksy after it was bought for £250,000 by a renowned dealer on the Channel 4 television show The Greatest Auction.

The artist, who goes by the name Silent Bill, and who has a history of making works inspired by Banksy, said it was well known within the local art scene that he had stencilled the piece in about 2013.