£1,000 'gold' bar hidden by artist is discovered

Michael Barry, 31, decided to find out more about Paul Insect's fake bullion project after reading about it in the Evening Standard.

Insect created 100 gold-plated bars with a bite mark taken out of them to suggest greed and put all but one on show at the Lazarides Gallery in Soho.

The exception he hid somewhere in the capital.

It was found by Michael Barry, an Australian who lives in Hackney, by following clues from Insect's website.

He correctly identified the fake bar had been left in Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green.

Mr Barry said: "I rode about a bit, climbing up on top of bus stops and things.

"What was funny was I saw some guy running down the street and thought he was on to it, but luckily it turned out he was a jogger."

Mr Barry already had an interest in Insect's work after coming across a wooden artwork left in a street for an earlier project.

"I like his work. It's good stuff," he said. "I do have bits and pieces of art but I wouldn't say I would ever spend £1,000.

"I'm not going to get rid of the bar. It's next to the computer on my desk."

Paul Insect's show, Bullion, continues at the Lazarides Gallery until 18 August.