A Banksy fan could not believe his eyes when he saw a man who looked just like the notorious graffiti artist putting up Perspex around his latest work.
The onlooker said the man held a "striking resemblance" to Robin Gunningham, the man widely believed to be Banksy.
The sighting occurred near Banksy's latest mural - green paint splashed on a wall behind the bare branches of a coppiced tree - in Finsbury Park, on Saturday (March 23) at 10am.
The man was seen helping to install security measures and Perspex to protect the artwork, which was vandalised just days after it appeared.
The Banksy enthusiast said: "I have been going to the mural for whole week.
"On Saturday there was more security fences and CCTV up, and a few people putting up Perspex over the artwork.
"I went back at 10am to go have another look at what they were doing and saw this man who looks exactly like the photo I saw 20 years ago of Banksy.
"I found it weird he was putting up his own Perspex."
He added: "The people putting it up weren't wearing council uniforms or anything, one was wearing a Nirvana T-shirt.
"He must have been there for hours."
About two decades ago, the first supposed photograph of Banksy surfaced, alleged to be Robin Gunningham, and these latest images first appeared to be the same person.
However, it has now been confirmed that this man is not Banksy but 67-year-old George Giorgio, the father of the landlord who owns the building the tree was painted on.
Mr Giorgio has even said that he is not a fan of graffiti, but installed the Perspex to protect the artwork.
The mural, which Banksy confirmed as his via Instagram, appeared overnight on March 18.
It was defaced with white paint two days later.
The graffiti shows abstract foliage and a silhouette of a person holding a power hose.
There are several Banksy paintings across London, but many have been removed - and one was stolen within an hour of its appearance.
The frequent defacement and theft of his works has sparked concern about their preservation.
A sign has now been put up next to his latest piece, asking people not to walk on the grass in front of it.
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