Builder accused of Banksy artwork theft wanted to ‘add it to his love heart collection’

A builder accused of stealing a Banksy print wanted to add it to his personal collection of love heart artworks, a court has heard.

James Love, 54, is accused of working with an accomplice to steal the £270,000 ‘Girl with the Balloon’ piece from a gallery in Fitzrovia, London, in September last year.

Love hid the work after another man had smashed through the door of a gallery, jurors were told.

He already owned numerous love heart-based pictures and wanted the Banksy ‘on his walls’, the court heard.

The limited-edition print, part of a £1.5million collection displayed at the Grove Gallery, was quickly recovered by Met Police Flying Squad officers.

‘Given that it was Mr Love who had multiple pieces of art based on love hearts already on his walls, it was likely stolen with a view to it eventually, when the heat had died down, ending up in the same place,’ prosecution barrister Philip Stott told Kingston Crown Court on Monday.

Prosecutors say Love, a ‘relatively successful builder’, drove another man, Larry Fraser, to the gallery, on September 8, 2024.

Fraser, 48, is said to have stolen the valuable artwork at 11pm the same day, before stashing it in the hallway of a nearby property.

Fraser has already pleaded guilty to burglary, jurors at Kingston Crown Court heard on Monday, September 15.

Barrister Philip Stott said Fraser was ‘impoverished’ and only had £1.75 in his bank account the day before the theft.

Mr Love had transferred £200 to Fraser on the day of the offence, Mr Stott said.

Before that day, Love had only paid Fraser small amounts – normally £20 around twenty times the previous year, jurors heard.

Fraser called Love just minutes after smashing the gallery doors and taking the painting, the court heard.

After leaving the gallery, Fraser took the Banksy into a nearby property where he left the artwork and changed his top, the trial heard.

A night watchman was ‘startled’ to find a ‘large painting’ by the doorway, the court heard.

He had ‘no idea how it had got there because it hadn’t been there when he walked past the same spot earlier that evening’, Mr Stott said.

The duo pushed past the night watchman, picked up the painting, and left, the barrister added.

The two men walked away with the Banksy, hiding it a second time, before retrieving the piece and putting it in the back of Love’s van, jurors heard.

They drove to a block of flats in the Isle of Dogs where Love unloaded the Banksy, the court was told.

Love was arrested at his home on September 10 and later told investigating officers where to find the Banksy, producing a hand-drawn plan, jurors heard.

Police went to the Isle of Dogs address and found the artwork inside a ground floor cupboard under a dust sheet.

Love, of North Stifford, denies burglary. The trial continues.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.