Good Samaritan schoolboy handed £20,000 artwork by guerrilla artist Banksy
A GOOD Samaritan schoolboy who helped a passerby was shocked when he was handed an iconic piece of art by guerrilla artist Banksy.
Ben Azarya helped a man when he dropped his paints on a train in Oxenholme, Cumbria – but was shocked at what happened next.
The 14-year-old said: "He was on the phone for most of the time talking to someone called AK47.
"He opened his rucksack and had a gas mask and spray paints inside. He got out a piece of paper and had colours marked on it of what he had been trying out and he dropped his colours.
"I picked them up for him and after that he started signing it in weird letters and numbers.
"He said 'do you know who Robin Banks is?'.
"I said no and he said 'this will be worth about £20,000 - have a good life, brother'."
The man handed him a copy of a piece featuring a flower thrower.
Ben described the man as: "White, in his late 40s. He was wearing scruffy clothes and he had a black, fluffy hat which looked really old.
"He had a little jacket that didn't go over his arms and jeans with paint on. He looked really wacky and had blonde hair and blue eyes."
The teenager had no idea of the significance of the meeting until he went home and looked the artist up on the internet.
Banksy's 'Artist in Residence' Video for 18th Annual Webby Awards
Ben and his mother, Jan, have been in touch with Bonhams Auction House, who advised them to get the print authenticated.
If the print does turn out to be genuine, the youngster said he would have no problem selling the work.
He said: "I will probably spend about £1,000 and get a new phone and save the rest."
Banksy's pieces have fetched more than £1million at auction.
