A mural of Mary Poppins has been labelled ‘harmful graffiti’ and must be removed, a London council has said.
Patrick Spens painted a picture of the iconic nanny on the roof of his home in Earls Court last year, but has now been threatened with enforcement action by Kensington and Chelsea Council.
He painted the mural, a black silhouette of Poppins with her signature umbrella and handbag in a red heart in response to natural disasters in Africa.
But the council say that as his home is in a conservation area, the painting is a breach of planning rules and have given him two months to apply for permission or have it removed.
Mr Spens, 55, told MailOnline that the council were trying to ‘whitewash a symbol of hope’.
He said: ‘I was in a really bad place at the time. I was sitting at home with my daughter on the roof and I was saying ‘God, the world’s in a terrible place at the moment. I want to paint something as a symbol of hope’, and she said ‘just get on with it’.’
He commissioned Saffina Tarbuck, the grandaughter of comedian and TV host Jimmy Tarbuck to paint the picture in the dark so that no one would complain.
The artwork was in response to floods in Libya and the Al Haouz earthquake in Morocco – both of which claimed thousands of lives.
But he said the council wrote to him last month with an ultimatum, giving him two months to put in a planning application and ‘canvas local support’, while telling him that it would ‘most likely be rejected’.
Referring to new artwork which appeared overnight in Finsbury Park, he said: ‘There’s a new Banksy out today. I bet the council won’t demand its removal!
‘Surely there’s more important things for the council to focus on?’
‘Everyone could do with a bit of Mary Poppins’ magic dust at the moment’, he added.
The magical nanny was created by Australian-British author P L Travers in her eponymous series of children’s books.
Poppins was famously portrayed by Julie Andrews in the Academy Award-winning 1964 Disney film.
Responses to Mr Spen’s online petition slammed the council for targeting ‘innocent fun’.
Drawings and murals have previously been the subject of rows between residents and local authorities.
This weekend, furious locals slammed a council for removing a mural of the Union Flag on the side of a fish and chip shop in south east London.
The owner of the Golden Chippy in Greenwich said that the mural, deemed by the council as an ‘unauthorised advert’ was a tourist attraction.
Kensington and Chelsea council has been contacted for comment.