ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

City workers who removed "graffiti" from a wall in Tampa, Florida, were horrified to discover that the mural was in fact an authorised work of art.

The wall had been painted by artist Catherine Thomas with the help of young local residents including 12-year-old Aida Castelli.

"It was meant to bring the community together and slow people down at the park," she said. "We all worked on it together."

The painting was Tampa's first and only street mural but the council workers who removed it failed to notice a plaque next to the piece that explained its significance. The city's mayor joked in a Tweet: "Not many art majors on our graffiti abatement team" and the city has promised to have the artwork restored.

Mistaking street art for graffiti is not uncommon. Earlier this month a council in Melbourne, Australia, was forced to apologise after graffiti contractors removed a newly-installed "disability pride" mural. The piece had taken hundreds of hours to complete and was meant to be an iconic showcase in support of the less able-bodied. And the installation had in fact been partially funded by the council for whom the contractors worked.

Even Banksy has had work removed by well-meaning operatives. A team of builders who were called in to spruce up the Geejam Hotel in Jamaica last spring missed the fact that the rat stencils on the walls were a well-known hallmark of the world-renowned graffiti artist. So they covered up the stencils -with an estimated value of £4 million - with two coats of white paint.