KINGSTON Crown Court cleared James Love, a 54-year-old builder from London, of burglary in connection with the theft of a Banksy print from a central London gallery last September. The limited-edition, signed print of Girl with Balloon was valued at more than £250,000, and prosecutors had alleged Love acted as the getaway driver for Larry Fraser, 48, who admitted burglary in October and awaits sentencing. Love denied the charge and jurors acquitted him after a week-long trial, with a six-hour-plus deliberation that ended in the early evening.
Footage shown to jurors captured a 37-second raid in which Fraser smashed the Grove Gallery’s glass front, seized the artwork, and sprinted to a waiting vehicle before driving away. The heist occurred the day after the finale of a two-week exhibition titled Breakout: Banksy’s London Rebellion. Prosecutors said Love drove Fraser to and from the Fitzrovia gallery that day and was on the phone with him minutes before the theft, later transferring £200 to Fraser. Love told the court he had no idea what Fraser was planning and maintained he did not know the print was part of a crime. After his arrest, Love helped police locate the artwork by providing a hand-drawn plan to the storage site at Venus House on the Isle of Dogs and instructed officers how to reach it.
In court, Love recalled taking the print out of his van and storing it in a locked storage cupboard at a Docklands property he managed. He explained that he had stashed the piece away and later cooperated with investigators. Asked about the transfer of funds, Love said he had sent £200 to Fraser but claimed he intended to pay him only £20 for any work that night. The jury saw footage of Love helping Fraser into a Renault Trafic van with the artwork, but Love described his own role as minimal and said he did not know the full scale of the alleged crime.
Prosecutor Philip Stott quantified the Banksy print’s value, noting that the work was part of an exhibition and had its certificate of authenticity, making it worth over £250,000 on its own. He contrasted that with Love’s statements that the only Banksy-related prints at his home were modest heart-themed pieces valued at up to £300. The exhibition’s centerpiece, the signed Girl with Balloon, was one of 13 works featured during Breakout: Banksy’s London Rebellion. Fraser, who admitted burglary last October, remains to be sentenced.
The defense argued that the case against Love relied on speculation and the appearance of love-heart-themed art at his home, plus his connection to Fraser. Defence barrister Orla Daly told jurors there was no credible evidence that Love planned or participated in a sophisticated crime, and she pressed the notion that the grand-romantic gesture narrative did not hold up under scrutiny. Daly criticized the prosecution’s portrayal of Love’s home as evidence of involvement, pointing out that the walls in his Docklands property housed multiple pieces by the same artist, not a plan to commit a high-stakes theft. In his closing, she suggested it was improbable that Love would knowingly sign up to an art heist merely to install a world-famous print on his walls if it would expose him to police scrutiny.
The jury deliberated for about six hours and twenty minutes before delivering its verdict. Love, wearing jeans and a grey shirt, appeared visibly relieved when the verdict was read. He did not appear to comment publicly after the trial.
Fraser, who is connected to the case through the initial burglary charge, had admitted one count of burglary and awaits sentencing. The case has drawn attention as it links a high-profile Banksy work to a dramatic, quick smash-and-grab operation and raises questions about the role, if any, of bystanders in art thefts. The Banksy print was reportedly recovered within 72 hours of the theft, and investigators later located the artwork hidden in a cupboard at a storage location.
Images from the trial showed the dramatic moment of the break-in and the ensuing investigation, including footage of the police finding the print under a dust sheet in the cupboard. The court heard that a portion of the alleged plan involved Love providing instructions that helped officers locate the print, a detail cited by prosecutors as part of the timeline surrounding the theft. While the prosecution asserted that Love’s actions pointed toward complicity, the jury was not persuaded beyond a reasonable doubt to convict him of burglary.
The case underscores the tension between high-profile art thefts and the human stories behind them, including the personal connections alleged to be involved and the motives that prosecutors claim drive such crimes. As Fraser faces sentencing, Love’s acquittal closes a chapter on one of the more unusual art-theft narratives to unfold in recent London crime history. The broader public interest centers on Banksy’s work and the circumstances under which such rare, signed pieces exchange hands during heists, investigations, and courtroom verdicts.