‘LOVE Bude’ are the words that have been springing around the town recently, after a piece of artwork was discovered on Shalder Hill on Valentine’s Day, writes Rosie Cripps.

Described by local man, Steve Bielby, as ‘a Valentine’s card to Bude’, the artwork, of a young girl holding a red balloon with the words ‘Love Bude’ flowing into it, has a distinct resemblance to Banksy’s famous ‘Balloon Girl’, which is situated in East London.

Steve was on his way into town on Valentine’s Day for his daily coffee, when he noticed an unusual shape on the green fencing around the weather station at the top of Shalder Hill. Making his way up there, he discovered the artwork, took a photograph and posted it on the community Facebook page, Bude Banter, which received over 400 likes.

Speaking to the Post about the art, Steve remembered a similar event last year, when a love heart with ‘Love Bude’ imprinted in the middle was found at the roundabout by Bencoolen Bridge. The art was taken down the following day, but the mystery behind it intrigued him.

Steve said: “I thought it was quite cool really. It was obviously a Valentine’s card to Bude, and it went on to the Love Bude site too, which is cool.”

He went on to explain that the art has a strong similarity to that of Banksy’s work, of which has gone on to become a very popular and famous piece. Although he doubts Bude’s art was created by the artist himself, the mystery stills remains — where did it come from, and who created it?”

Steve said that the art may have reminded people to be that little bit more appreciative of their town, adding: “It’s made people smile, and the picture I took of it has had quite a few likes on Facebook, with no negative comments, so it’s great that it’s been able to cheer people up.”

This also follows on from some graffiti work that was found at the demolished site of the old Strand Hotel, which also had a slight likeness to the work of Bansky.

When asked if these could be linked, Steve was unsure. He said: “The one at the Strand had some very good stencil work, but the writing was not very well done at all. Part of it was very good, but the writing was awful. But Love Bude, at Shalder Hill, is different. Like last year, the art was taken away without a trace, and I think that’s quite cool really.”