Who Is HELCH? Windsor Castle Graffiti Artist Unmasked As 'Banksy Wannabe'

28 August 2019, 17:32

A graffiti artist who upset the Queen by spray painting a 60ft HELCH tag near Windsor Castle, Berkshire, is 27-year-old drug offender who lives at home with his Mum.

The 'Banksy Wannabe' who vandalised a railway viaduct near Her Majesty's Berkshire residence has been named as Michael Purdy.

The graffiti artist's friends have claimed that he is the mysterious figure behind the numerous random appearances of the 'word' HELCH across the country.

Sightings of HELCH have been made on tube stations, bridges and a royal railway viaduct, of which the Queen is said to be 'extremely upset' about.

A royal source said: "The Queen's aides have been asked to see what can be done to have this gratuitous vandalism cleaned up and the views across to Windsor Castle restored to their former beauty."

Michael Purdy, 27, from Hayes in West London, was last year handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for possession of £1,000 worth of drugs but is said to now hold down a professional job.

He refused to respond when asked about his identity by MailOnline, however his mother Lynn denied that her son was the culprit.

She said: "Years ago he might have done something like that when he was a teenager, but he is not HELCH as far as I am aware.

"I've seen that graffiti around . . . I don't want him to be involved if he was."

But a former friend has said that Mr Purdy has been tagging since he was 11 or 12 years old and thinks that he's going to be the next Banksy.

The word was first seen appearing in Harrow in September 2018 and has since been seen in various forms at places such as Notting Hill Gate and Sloane Square.

A beloved 'Give Peas A Chance' mural over the M25 in Buckinghamshire was painted over by the graffiti artist and replaced with 'Give Helch A Break'.