AN artist’s attempt to cheer up shoppers in Pinehurst fell foul of a business which failed to see the funny side of Bill and Ben.

Banksy-style artist John D’Oh from Bristol heard about the giant flowerpots installed by Swindon Borough Council in Clive Parade and decided to cheer them up with cut-out figures from iconic BBC children’s show Bill and Ben.

But the figures were taken away by a neighbouring business yesterday.

Mr D’Oh said he first heard about the pots through a friend and then followed up by reading the Adver’s coverage of the pots last summer. Businesses and shoppers had mixed reactions to the size and cost of the pots last August, as well as the increase in littering and disruption caused during their installation.

He admitted the council might not have seen the funny side if he’d gone through the official channels. I don’t think Swindon council would find my work amusing. It’s a lot of money to spend on flower pots for somebody to make a joke about.”

“With street art it is sometime better to ask forgiveness rather than permission, as I am sure I would have had to go through many committees, and I am positive that not everybody would have wanted the installation.

“It was removed very soon afterwards and probably by a local employee, who I was told failed to see the funny side of it and was lacking in a sense of humour.

“It’s a shame, as most of the locals were loving it and were even posing for photos.”

But a Swindon Borough Council spokesman took the piece in good spirits.

“The architectural planters in Clive Parade were installed to improve the area for local people and businesses and to spruce up one of the main gateways into Swindon from the north,” he said.

“Bill and Ben certainly added some colour to our planters during their brief stay and proved that art in Swindon has certainly not gone to pot.”