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Cracking highway code to reveal ID of Banksy tribute

 

A year has passed but the identity of the elusive Dorset Banksy remains unknown. Since last autumn, seven road signs on or close to the A30 between Shaftesbury and Sherborne have been adapted.

You may call it vandalism – but you can’t deny the quality of the additions.
The first to appear was a cowboy and lasso added to the cattle sign on the A30 outside East Stour. Then two pedestrian signs outside of Fifehead Magdalen were altered: one had a top hat and carried a rabbit in a hat, the other bowler hats and a velociraptor on a lead. Fifehead Parish clerk David Redwood first saw them last September: “I asked around in the village as there are a few I thought might be capable of doing this – but any involvement has been flatly denied. I suppose it’s vandalism but I find it humorous: it adds fun to our mundane lives!”

Cowboy and lasso added to the cattle sign on the A30 outside East Stour
Cowboy and lasso added to the cattle sign on the A30 outside East Stour

Cowboy and lasso added to the cattle sign on the A30 outside East Stour

The self-adhesive silhouettes took a darker turn when another pedestrian sign was adapted on the A30 near Sherborne, adding a machete and severed head.

But in February, the humour returned.
A ballerina was added to a humpback bridge sign on a bridge, and a man propped up a narrow road warning they are at the same spot, as you enter Henstridge from the east on the A30.


A ballerina added to a humpback bridge sign on a bridge
A ballerina added to a humpback bridge sign on a bridge
A man propped up a narrow road warning as you enter Henstridge from the east on the A30
A man propped up a narrow road warning as you enter Henstridge from the east on the A30

A ballerina added to a humpback bridge sign on a bridge  |  A man propped up a narrow road warning as you enter Henstridge from the east on the A30

A second cow/cowboy image also appeared on the A30 before the Nyland turn. The last two also had a self- mocking stencil ‘autograph’ added.Since covid-19 appeared, the artist has gone to ground: no more signs appear to have been adapted in the area. The ‘artworks’ have generally been well received in the A30 villages.

On Facebook, West Stour resident Peter Walker said: “Far from being vandalism, it brings the notice sign to the road user’s attention.” Another West Stour villager Pam Powell agreed with his comment. “They make people happy and we have a good idea who it is.”

Asked if the artist was from West Stour, Pam would only say: “The hunt is what it’s about. Entrance to a village hall is the clue.” She added cryptically: “We don’t want staged fights.”

Do you know who the artist is? Or have you seen any other signs? Do let us know!

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