HAS Banksy been shopping in Wellington’s Waitrose store?

A Banksy-style painting which has appeared on a triangular road sign in the supermarket’s car park has prompted shoppers to ask themselves the question.

Banksy, whose identity remains a mystery despite being one of the world’s most famous artists, is known for the satirical nature of his guerrilla street art and political activism.

He hails from the Westcountry, having been born in the Bristol area and started about 35 years ago by spray-painting stencilled designs in various locations around the city.

The Waitrose painting depicts a woman hanging out the stripes from a zebra on a washing line to dry.

It is believed to be a parody of the faded zebra crossing next to the sign which pedestrians use to cross through traffic to reach the store.

The original road sign, which has been blanked out with white paint, indicated a pedestrian walkway for people to use to stay safe as shoppers parked their cars.

One shopper told the Wellington Weekly: “It looks like a Banksy… but, no.

“If it was a Banksy, I am sure he would have done it on a plain wall.”

Waitrose Wellington branch manager James Gorman said: “Whether it is the real deal or not, we admire the artist’s creativity.

“For safety reasons, we will need to move it from covering the current signage, so are looking into ways to potentially relocate the artwork.”

One theory circulating among Wellington shoppers this week was that the Waitrose work was by ‘an aspiring Banksy’, perhaps just starting out on a career as a street artist.

The Wellington Weekly has reached out to Banksy through his/her website to ask if he/she would like to confirm, deny, refuse to comment, or threaten to sue the paper.