A security guard has been hired to protect a mural believed to be the work of pseudonymous street artist, Banksy.

The work of art recently popped up at Stone Pier’s sea wall in Harwich, Essex, and shows a young boy in a flat cap catching a blue face mask on the end of his fishing rod.

Although it’s yet to be confirmed whether or not this is a verified Banksy piece, it certainly fits within a series of other recent works.

All throughout August, 10 different murals by the famed street artist have sprung up in various locations across Norfolk and Suffolk, in a series dubbed ‘A Great British Spraycation’.

In a short film uploaded to Instagram, the mysterious artist can be seen turning his satirical eye to the notion of ‘staycations’, a term that has cropped up time and again over the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

One such artwork sees figures dancing and playing the accordion atop a bus stop, while another depicts a huge, arcade-style claw dangling ominously above a bench.

The face of the artist himself, of course, is not made visible, but we do get a glimpse of a pair of jeans-clad legs stepping out of a white campervan, and a grey-hooded man strolling purposefully across a beach, spray cans in hand.

We immediately put security in place and are taking further steps to protect this artwork as we await confirmation that it is indeed the latest piece of the artist’s ‘Spraycation’ in East Anglia.

Earlier this week, a confirmed Banksy piece in the Suffolk town of Lowestoft – which showed a rat sipping a cocktail in a deckchair – was defaced with white paint.

The council said:

We are very grateful for the huge goodwill of local people who are proud of these artworks, but we would kindly ask people not to try and repair the works themselves, and to please leave this to professional restorers.

Before the Lowestoft piece was confirmed as a genuine Banksy, the council had ordered protective materials in a bid to keep it safe.