A MYSTERY street artist come campaigner has decorated a town’s sculpture in support of a fight to save a library from closure.

The unknown activist added a placard yesterday (July 25) to the two-metre tall Elephant and The Tortoise sculpture in Larkshall Road, Highams Park, in support of the campaign to Save Hale End Library.

It reads ‘Save our library’ on one side and ‘Hands off our library’ on the other, and is positioned so the tortoise appears to be shouting the commands.

The council is planning to move Hale End Library, in The Avenue, Highams Park to smaller premises in Signal Walk, near the sculpture and the Tesco superstore.

This is despite thousands signing a petition opposing the plans and Conservative councillors and Iain Duncan Smith MP showing the campaign their support.

Barnaby Barford’s metal sculpture commemorates the former Halex Factory which produced sheet plastic from 1897 to 1971 while on the Tesco superstore site.

It was unveiled in February this year and paid for by Tesco as part of a development deal when it opened in 2012.

If you know who the mystery activist is, contact reporter, Joe Roberts, on 07824 530127 and joe.roberts@london.newsquest.co.uk.