A FAKE £10 note handed in at a city car wash could be a work of art worth hundreds of pounds. Staff at Five Star Wash, in Sefton Street, Toxteth, were left bemused last week when a customer paid with a note which appeared to be an original piece by guerrilla artist Banksy.

The mysterious customer brought his vehicle, a new silver Ford Focus, in for a wash on Thursday morning.

Manager Edward Humphry said: “He gave us the note and said ‘keep the change, it is worth more than that’. I noticed straight away it was not a real note, but he just gave it to us and drove away.

“He was not a scally trying to drive off with a free car wash.”

The artwork is a copy of a £10 note and features the face of Diana, Princess of Wales, where the Queen’s head can usually be found.

Typical of the artist’s satirical style, it is playfully marked “Banksy of England” with “I promise to pay the bearer the ultimate price” printed underneath.

Staff at Five Star Wash thought it might be the work of Banksy – the creator of the painting of a giant rat on the derelict White House pub, in Berry Street – and checked it out on auction website eBay.

A 2004 signed print of his “Di-Faced Tenners” is currently for sale on the site for nearly £20,000. One was previously snapped up at auction for £24,000. A pair of loose notes are also going for just under £200.

The note’s new owners are deciding what to do with their find.

They are also trying to work out if the note is real or not – and even if the prankster at the car wash could have been Banksy himself.