A builder has been accused of acting as the getaway driver in the September theft of a limited-edition Banksy print worth more than £250,000, a court in London heard on Monday.
Prosecutors told jurors at Kingston Crown Court that James Love, 55, drove co-defendant Larry Fraser to and from the Grove Gallery in Fitzrovia on the night the signed and numbered Girl with Balloon print was taken from a two-week exhibition called Breakout: Banksy's London Rebellion.
Philip Stott, prosecuting, said recorded telephone activity and CCTV linked Love to the vicinity of the gallery on 8 September 2024 and showed him standing on Scala Street shortly after the raid. Fraser, 48, pleaded guilty last October to one count of burglary; Love, of North Stifford, Grays, Essex, denies a single charge of burglary.
The prosecution's account, as set out to the jury, said the theft took 37 seconds. CCTV allegedly shows a hooded man smash the gallery's glass front door, enter, remove the Girl with Balloon print from the wall and run from the scene. Fraser is identified as the man who entered the gallery. The print, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, was described in court as being worth ‘‘over a quarter of a million pounds.’'
Stott told the court that mobile telephone mast data placed Love in central London during the day of the theft and that the two men’s phones were in the Stepney Green area by about 4:50 p.m., suggesting they were together earlier in the day. The prosecutor said Love's Renault Trafic van was parked in Scala Street and that Love called Fraser at 10:55:20 p.m. for 37 seconds; the gallery door was smashed at 10:58:36 p.m.
The court heard that Love was captured on CCTV in Scala Street with a phone to his ear at about 11:01 p.m., roughly 15 minutes after the burglary. Prosecutors say Fraser walked toward where Love had been and that a night watchman at an address on Scala Street, Sukhinder Singh, saw a large painting inside a doorway where it had not been an hour earlier.
Stott said CCTV later showed both men carrying the painting along Whitfield Street before it was temporarily left on the street. The jury was told Fraser retrieved the print and, with Love's assistance, placed it in the back of Love's van before they drove away. Love then drove to an address on Westfery Road, where the prosecutor said he took the artwork inside at about 11:45 p.m.
The court heard evidence about the defendants' financial positions. Stott said Love appeared to be a ‘‘relatively successful builder’’ while Fraser was ‘‘impoverished,’’ and that bank records showed Love had transferred small amounts of money to Fraser about 20 times in the previous year. On the day of the theft, the prosecutor said Love transferred £200 to Fraser.
Prosecutors also advanced motive: they told the jury Love kept multiple pieces of artwork featuring love hearts on the walls of his home and that the Girl with Balloon print, which features a heart-shaped balloon, may have been taken to join that collection. ‘‘Fraser went straight to that particular print featuring the love heart balloon, not to any others,’’ Stott told jurors.
Defence lawyers for Love argue he was not involved in the burglary. Love has pleaded not guilty and the trial is ongoing. Fraser has admitted one count of burglary and his sentencing or other proceedings will reflect that earlier plea.
Girl with Balloon is among Banksy’s most recognisable images and the print was displayed as part of a publicised exhibition in central London. The theft took place one day after the finale of the exhibition. The case has drawn attention because of the work's high value, the speed of the raid and the gallery setting in a busy part of central London.
Court hearings are due to continue, during which jurors will hear further witnesses and evidence about the movements of the defendants, CCTV footage, telephone data and banking transactions. The outcome will depend on whether the jury is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that Love dishonestly intended the owner to be permanently deprived of the artwork and that he assisted or encouraged the burglary.