They hired Banksy for £50 then painted over his mural

For years radical person tried - and failed - to uncover details astir Bristol's astir famous, yet anonymous, graffiti creator Banksy.

Photos of him and stories of radical who person met him are incredibly rare. But present a antheral who got the secretive creator to enactment with children astatine a younker nine successful the precocious 1990s has fixed the BBC an exclusive penetration into the antheral down the murals, conscionable arsenic helium was astir to go famous.

Banksy is 1 of the world's astir celebrated graffiti artists. His enactment has sold for millions of pounds and his exhibitions seen by hundreds of thousands of people.

But down layers of paint, mislaid successful clip astatine a Bristol younker club, there's a Banksy precise fewer radical cognize about.

On the cusp of planetary fame, the creator was leaving his people - not lone connected the streets of his city, but connected young radical successful Lawrence Weston.

Here, Banksy helped groups of teens successful creation classes, conscionable arsenic helium was astir to overgarment his celebrated Mild, Mild West mural.

"If you look astatine the photos, you tin spot the mode helium was moving with the young people," said Peter de Boer, the antheral liable for getting Banksy successful the building.

"They were engaged, having amusive and sharing ideas. It was a existent collaboration."

Now each that remains of these unsocial murals are photographs, capturing the colourful, abstract and lively pieces that stretched crossed the walls of the younker club. The BBC has been fixed support to usage these photos connected the information that Banksy remains anonymous.

The creator would instrumentality to the nine respective times to make caller worlds, with a revolving doorway of excitable 11 to 16 twelvemonth olds – oblivious to who the creator would yet become.

It was the precocious 1990s erstwhile Peter, a elder younker idiosyncratic for the area, was looking for section artists to animate a procreation of children successful this portion of westbound Bristol.

His person had a proposition – idiosyncratic who went retired 'tagging' the metropolis with his member and was starting to marque a sanction for himself. That idiosyncratic was Banksy.

"I got his telephone number, truthful I utilized to telephone him up and inquire if he'd travel and bash immoderate creation projects. He was truly keen," Peter said.

This was the aforesaid twelvemonth Banksy did his archetypal ample stencil mural successful Stokes Croft - Mild Mild West - depicting a teddy carnivore throwing a Molotov cocktail astatine 3 riot police.

Each clip Banksy arrived astatine the younker club, helium was greeted by dozens of anxious kids.

The purpose-built younker centre from the 1970s had go a existent assemblage hub.

"There would virtually beryllium hundreds of young radical that would travel present implicit a week," said Peter, who is passionate astir the request for younker clubs successful society.

"It was ever precise vibrant."

Peter recalled the hype gathering astir Banksy's enactment successful Bristol, but that "nobody thought doubly astir who helium was" erstwhile helium was moving sessions successful Lawrence Weston.

He was conscionable different creator sharing his skills with the community, helium said.

"The happening that struck maine backmost past was helium didn't truly person an ego. He was doing creation with them, alternatively than doing creation for them," helium said.

"In the morning, helium sat astir a array with the children, talking astir their ideas.

"Then they would each conscionable muck successful and spray these things that were invented.

"It wasn't much Banksy than the young people, it was decidedly a benignant of 50/50 thing."

And however overmuch did it outgo to bring successful Banksy?

"For the archetypal 1 [workshop], I deliberation we paid him £50. Probably lone covered the outgo of the spray paints backmost then," Peter said.

"I don't deliberation he's ever been successful it for the money. It shows what a deep, benignant and caring idiosyncratic helium is."

The murals Banksy created with the children were amusive and vivid successful colour – but with meaning.

Cows looking up arsenic bombs are dropped supra them, which Peter believes was a motion to clime anxiety, portion different was much obscure - a circus overrun by robots.

But what happened to these murals? They were painted over. Again and again.

"I personally painted implicit a Banksy. I threw a Banksy stencil distant erstwhile I was clearing up," Peter said.

But helium is not 1 to get sentimental astir preserving thoroughfare art.

"I person nary regrets astatine each [covering them up]. Back then, it was overmuch much astir moving with and engaging young people.

"And it was conscionable different creation task backmost then."

For Peter, the worth of Banky's clip astatine the nine is not monetary, but based connected what these murals did for the community.

He wonders if the children retrieve creating pieces with a antheral who is present 1 of the astir celebrated artists successful the world.

"I'm precise arrogant helium came here," helium said.

"There volition beryllium [those who were] young radical successful the section assemblage who are parents present who worked with Banksy, and they whitethorn not cognize that."