A dog walker who is the daughter of a multi-millionaire property developer said she walked past Banksy’s newest piece of art and didn’t even spot the huge mural.
Lucy Boultbee Brooks, 32, was out walking her four-year-old beagle Rufus at 7am this morning and little did she know that the world-famous artist could have been standing just yards away from her.
Lucy, who works in asset management, is the daughter of Clive Boultbee Brooks, founder of Boultbee, who previously owned shopping centres in Sweden worth more than £770m.
She told Metro the elephant painting had been splashed across a wall less than a minute’s walk from her house.
Her dad, Clive Boultbee Brooks, said to be worth around £319 million, wasn’t as impressed as her mum, who said she couldn’t believe Lucy was in the shot.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘I was in my own little zone and just didn’t have a clue if anyone was there. I didn’t see anyone but it was so early in the morning and I had my airpods in so I’m not sure I would have noticed anyone anyway.
‘There was no sign anyone had been there, or anything had been painted, and I feel a bit embarrassed to say I didn’t even see the elephants.’
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She said her trusty companion Rufus has been one of her nearest and dearest for the last-four years.
She said: ‘He is by my side every day and we go out for walks all the time but this has to have been the most famous one of all time.
‘He has a nose for sniffing out things (usually) but he mustn’t have been able to smell the Banksy this time.
‘He’s just a cute boy and I love him so much, he’s the best. I’ve got to take him back there later and he’s going to be even more famous than the painting I’m sure.’
The events rider from Chelsea said since the photo was posted online on Instagram to his 13 million followers she has been inundated with messages.
It is the second piece of Banksy’s artwork to appear in so many days, with the Bristol-based wall climber sharing a photo of the wall art just hours after another of his works appeared near Kew Bridge in Richmond.
Lucy said: ‘It has been crazy, I’ve never received so many messages before.
‘One of my friends spotted it and sent it to me and I couldn’t believe it.
‘I love his work, and think it is always really cool and deals with important political moments of the day, and this one is just as important.
‘The shape of the country right now I think art is definitely an important way we can get messages across.’
Lucy had been working from home and Rufus – who is her and her husband’s dog – when she went out for her daily walk.
But just a few hours later her phone wouldn’t stop pinging with people asking her where it is, and if it was her in the photo.
She said: ‘My phone hasn’t stopped all afternoon, I think this must have been the most famous I’ve ever been. They say everyone has their 15 minutes of fame and this has definitely got to be it.
‘I’ve had messages from all over the world with people asking me where it is, if I saw him, if I knew he was there, and it’s just crazy.’
The 32-year-old hopes that the mural is saved though as she thinks it helps bring ‘character to the area’ and might even raise the house prices even higher in Chelsea.
She said: ‘I used to live in Bristol and I’ve seen his work before but to think he could have been there and I walked past him is crazy.’
She added: ‘I don’t think my dad would buy it for me, and how can you put a price on something as iconic as a Banksy.
‘It’s just crazy how well-known he is, and it is such a cool photo too. I think it might have to go up somewhere in the house but I don’t know where yet.’
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