Officials at English Heritage closed Stonehenge to the public this morning after discovering graffiti on one of the pillars. The site is the best-known prehistoric monument in Europe, attracting thousands of visitors every year.
It is believed that the image, depicting the cartoon character Fred Flintstone beneath the Union Flag, was drawn during Friday night by the street artist known as Banksy, although security cameras show no evidence of an intruder.
Master of the Stones Emanuel Falkirk told Spoofflé: ‘It’s an absolute disaster, we were all in tears this morning I can tell you, although once people heard about Banksy’s vandalism, the phones have gone mad and now the A303 is blocked for 14 miles in both directions. We’ve opened up 26 acres of extra parking and ordered 5,000 cheese and onion sandwiches from Tesco.’
We asked Mr Falkirk how English Heritage planned to clean off the stone. ‘Maybe we’ll leave it on for a couple of days,’ he said. ‘Let the Christmas trade do its thing and then we’ll see.’