Banksy mural of child playing in falling ash sold to U.K. art dealer

A British art dealer says he has bought a mural by street artist Banksy left on a garage wall in Wales for a price of more than 100,000 pounds ($170,000 Cdn).

The artwork in the town of Port Talbot shows a child playing in falling ash from a dumpster fire, an apparent reference to the steel town's air pollution.

Security guards were hired to protect the work after it appeared in December on a steelworker's garage.

John Brandler of Brandler Galleries in eastern England said on Friday he has agreed that the mural will stay in place for at least two years.

He said, "I want to make Port Talbot a go-to place rather than a go-from place. Within a short time I'm thinking of bringing five or six more Banksys to Port Talbot. Let's do an exhibition."