Banksy confirms that he created graffiti mural of boy wielding a sword on bridge in Hull

Banksy has confirmed that he is the artist behind a graffiti mural on a bridge in Hull.

The artwork on Hull's Scott Street Bridge features a young boy wearing a tin helmet and wielding a sword accompanied by the command: "Draw the raised bridge!"

The elusive artist, who remains anonymous, shared images of the mural on Instagram with his 1.9 million followers and confirmed that he created it on Friday (26 January).

The posts have received more than 250,000 likes with hundreds of fans expressing excitement at Banksy's latest work.

"I'm going to see this today!! So excited!" one person wrote, while another commented: "You blessed my city thank you."

Visitors have been flocking to Hull since Banksy made his announcement.

One man described seeing the artwork as "a dream come true".

"I've followed Banksy's work for many years," he told the BBC. "Never thought I'd see one and actually stood in front of it. You find them in Dubai and places like that."

But not everyone is equally thrilled by the mural. A Conservative councillor in Hull has called for the mural to be removed.

"I think that should be cleaned off. It should be photographed and the photograph kept because Banksy is not without talent," John Abbott told the BBC.

"But to compare Banksy for example with some of the real art in the Ferens Art Gallery, which is quite mind-bogglingly brilliant at times, is, shall we say, to judge by two different sets of standards."