A street art installation consisting of an old washing machine left in an underpass was removed by a council – which branded it FLYTIPPING.
Artist ‘Athirty4’ left the appliance next to a clothes hook on which passers-by were asked to “hang their sorrows”.
But council chiefs in Littlemore, Oxford, failed to appreciate its artistic merit and sent workmen to remove it on Thursday.
Tom Hayes, the city council’s greener environment boss, said: “The washing machine is blocking the public highway.
“If we leave it in place we’re effectively sanctioning it, which means we could be held liable for any injuries if, for example, a cyclist crashed into it at night.
“If the artist wants to create lasting public artwork in Oxford they should get in touch with us.”
The underpass exhibition is a joint project by local street artists named Under-Currents.
Anonymous Athirty4’s work went viral this month when he erecting a series of social media-related street signs across the Oxford.
He said signs for Facebook Row, Snapchat End and WTF Lane, were an attempt to mirror the “illusion” of social media.
Oxford City Council removed the signs – because they made the city “harder to navigate”.
