Reclusive graffiti artist named

The artist is a 34-year-old former pupil at Bristol Cathedral School called Robin Gunningham, according to the Mail on Sunday.

Banksy's distinctive cartoon-style spray can art is found all over the streets of London, Bristol and several other British cities.

His works have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds at auction and his celebrity fans include Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Jude Law.

But despite his massive popularity he has zealously guarded his anonymity, fuelling rumours and speculation about his true identity.

The Mail on Sunday tracked down a former neighbour of Mr Gunningham in Bristol who identified him in a photograph of a man believed to be Banksy.

Anthony Hallett told the paper: "I don't know for sure but I think Robin was working as a graffiti artist. He worked for other people and would disappear for months on end. He was quite nomadic."

Banksy's publicist could not be contacted for comment but refused to confirm his identity to the paper.

The artist has regularly courted controversy with a series of daring projects. In 2005 he targeted a security wall in Israel, creating nine stencil sprays on the Palestinian side of the West Bank barrier.

He also placed a painting of a can of Tesco value tomato soup and a woman wearing a gas mask in art galleries in New York.