A builder has denied being the getaway driver for a stolen £270,000 Banksy after CCTV captured him helping a friend into a van with the artwork.

James Love, whose partner’s name is Heart, instead said he stashed the ‘Girl with the Balloon’ piece in a block of flats because he wanted to return it to the gallery.

The 54-year-old also claimed he meant to transfer £20 to his friend who stole the limited edition piece, but accidentally added another zero onto the sum.

Larry Fraser, 48, admitted smashing the glass doors of the Grove Gallery in Fitzrovia, London and taking the limited edition piece in a 30-second burglary on September 8 last year. Footage shown to jurors at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday shows Lowe’s van pulling up near the Grove Gallery just after the break-in.

Fraser can

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