A WALL in Southampton where elusive aerosol painter Banksy left his mark with an eye-catching design has been painted over, the Daily Echo can this morning reveal.

It's not known who is responsible for daubing white paint over the top of drawing of a monochrome young boy who appears to be sat on a pavement holding a balloon with the words "no future" in red letters above.

A stunned city resident discovered what had happened when he took a detour on his way to work early this morning to see the masterpiece.

Experts yesterday had told the Echo that the work, on the wall of a private house in Bevois Valley, could be worth more than £20,000.

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It's thought Banksy, whose fans include Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, left his mark on the wall in the middle of the night as he made his way to the Isle of Wight.

Mark Westerman, 42, from Thornhill, who works in telesales at FPS Ltd in St Mary's, said: "I've only ever seen Banksy's work on TV or on the internet, so I thought I'd go and have a quick look at it on the way to work and there it was - ruined.

"It's unbelievable. Basically someone has gone over it with half a dozen strokes. You can just about see the drawing through that paint."