Flatmates furious after £8,000 Banksy print stolen after home was rented out on Airbnb

A print of this Banksy artwork was stolen from the flat
Rex Features
Mark Chandler2 February 2016
WEST END FINAL

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Two Londoners who put their home on website Airbnb claim they've had no help from the company after the flat was left in a mess and an £8,000 limited edition Banksy print was stolen.

Flatmates Dominic Jones and Jack Clarke rented out their Islington property through the site for a weekend but, when they returned home, they found the place was a mess with cannabis joints, condom wrappers and laughing gas canisters scattered on the floor.

Worse still, there were a number of items missing, including a limited edition print of Banksy’s early work Leopard and Barcode, bought for £90 over a decade ago.

Similar works are now exchanged among collectors for £8,000.

But the flatmates say that so far Airbnb have not helped them trace who they rented the flat out to.

Laughing gas canisters and condom wrappers were found at the flat 
Jack Clarke

Whilst the police attended as soon as they were called, Mr Jones said Airbnb simply told them to fill in an online insurance form.

After a wait of several days, the flatmates got in touch again but were told to fill in the same form once more.

Since then, Mr Jones said they have been going “back and forth” with the company in an effort to find the man who rented the flat but without success. Police told them they could do nothing more without those details.

The man still has a set of keys and has deleted his Airbnb account, he added.

The company says it is working with the police and the flatmates.

Jack Clarke and Dominic Jones
Jack Clarke

Mr Jones, 32, said: “If you rent someone’s flat through Airbnb, you’ve given your name, address and bank details, all your information.

“Even if the police went and knocked on his door and didn’t get anything out of it, that would be better than nothing.

“The fact no one can knock on his door is absolutely amazing.”

Now, six weeks after the theft, the pair claim Airbnb have let them down, potentially costing them the chance of getting the artwork back.

Even if they get the insurance money, they are still upset because they will not be able to replace the prized print.

Mr Jones claimed other people needed to be made aware of the risks, while the company must improve the way it handles such cases.

He said: “It makes me really angry that someone can do something that blatant and walk away scot-free. There’s such a thin veneer of trust that Airbnb is built on.

“It’s so flimsy if you can just disappear and change your details and no one can follow it up with you.

“In a situation like this, speed of response is going to make a real difference.”

Banksy - In pictures

New Banksy artworks
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A spokesman for Airbnb said: "We have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour and have removed this guest from our platform.

"We are assisting the police with their investigation and are providing the host with our support."

A Met Police spokesman confirmed they were investigating the theft, carried out between December 11 and 14 last year, but there had been no arrests so far.

Anyone with information can call Islington police on 101.

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