Banksy plays with violence and innocence in his Valentine's Day graffiti

LONDON (Reuters) – British street artist Banksy has probably given his hometown of Bristol in western England a Valentine's Day present: a new mural shows a little girl with a slingshot and a splash of red flowers.

Banksy – whose identity is not public – has not confirmed that the artwork is his. He often uses Instagram to claim ownership of his works, but has not done so this time. His agent did not respond to Reuters' request for confirmation.

The graffiti shows a young girl wearing a headscarf and is painted in black and white on the side of a house in the Barton Hill district of Bristol.

She holds a slingshot in one hand and the other hand behind her as if she had just fired a projectile. At the end of the slingshot's trajectory is a bright red shape like a blood splatter, made up of red plastic leaves and flowers.

It was spotted on Thursday morning, the day before Valentine's Day.

Banksy's street art often draws attention to social issues by adding dark elements to otherwise cheerful scenes.

In December, the elusive artist raised awareness of the problem of street sleeping with a mural in the central English city of Birmingham depicting two flying reindeer pulling a homeless man on a sleigh from a street bench.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Stephen Addison)