REPORTER: For some it is simply an eyesore, but for others graffiti has as much worth as an old master. In Bristol, reputed home of Banksy, the street artist who has done more than any other to elevate graffiti off concrete walls and into galleries, the question is to be settled by the public. Bristol city council is planning to let the public vote before murals on buildings, walls, and fences are scrubbed clean or painted over. If citizens decide they like it, the work will remain. Photographs will be posted on the council's website and the public asked to voice their opinions. The policy was created after a Banksy work, showing a naked man hanging out of a window while his lover's partner looks for him, appeared on a council-owned building in 2005, sparking debate over whether it should be removed. The council set up an online poll, with 93% of those voting saying they wanted to keep it. Bristol city council faced embarrassment in 2007 when its workers painted over a Banksy mural estimated to be worth £100,000, causing public outrage. Since then it has ordered all Banksy work to be preserved. A recent exhibition of works by Banksy in Bristol Museum attracted more than 300,000 visitors during the 16 weeks it was open. Queues for admission were up to six hours long at peak periods. The exhibition, for which the museum paid just £1 and which was free to the public, was kept secret until the day before it opened. Featuring 100 works including his trademark stencil paintings, animatronics and installations, organizers were forced to introduce late-night openings to keep up with visitor numbers.