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Banksy: Christmas reindeer mural raises issue of homelessness

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Banksy's new Mural of reindeers pulling a bench in BirminghamImage source, Reuters/Banksy/Instagram

The anonymous graffiti artist Banksy has revealed a new mural in Birmingham.

The mural is of two reindeers that appear to be pulling a bench looking kind of like Santa's sleigh.

The mural was done to highlight the issue of homelessness and the charity of others.

Banksy posted a video on Instagram on Monday with the caption: "God bless Birmingham."

The Banksy artwork with red noses
Image caption,

On Monday evening someone sprayed a red nose on the reindeer

The video shows a homeless man called Ryan having a drink before lying down on the bench with all his belongings as the camera pans out to reveal the reindeers.

The message continued: "In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter - without him ever asking for anything."

Hours later, someone sprayed red noses on the reindeer.

A visitor recreates the scene

But that's not stopped people from taking pictures of themselves on the bench.

Luke Crane from the area's Business Improvement District said it was now a priority to protect the artwork: "We are very keen to make sure it is a part of our community and not something that is taken away".