'Stolen' Banksy mural withdrawn from sale at U.S. auction house following storm of protest as mysterious new graffiti appears in its place Haringey Council told the sale of 'Slave Labour' was halted at last minute No explanation was given from the auction house in Miami Locals were left furious after mural was gouged from wall in North London Art dealer had been bombarded with angry phone calls and e-mails A Banksy mural which was controversially ripped from the wall of a north London shop has been withdrawn from sale at an auction in Miami, it emerged this evening. Slave Labour, which shows a young boy hunched over a sewing machine making Union Jack bunting, appeared on the wall in Wood Green, north London, last May, just before the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. It disappeared from the side of the Poundland store last weekend and was due to be auctioned thousands of miles away in Miami this evening. Not for sale: A Banksy mural which was ripped from the wall of a north London shop has been withdrawn from an auction in Miami Fury: Locals in Wood Green were left furious that a piece of free art was to be sold for profit Street art: This new mural, centre, appeared today in the space left after the Banksy work was taken. The rat, bottom right, is believed to be the artist's response to the work being taken Fine Art Auctions (FAA) were expecting it to reach between 500,000 US dollars (£328,063) and 700,000 US dollars (£459,288). But Haringey Council said it had been told the sale was halted at the last minute, with no explanation given from the auction house. It came as a new mural showing a woman in a nun's habit appeared in the space left behind by 'Slave Labour' today. Haringey Council Leader Claire Kober this evening told of her delight that the sale of the piece was halted. She said: 'It's a true credit to the community that their campaigning appears to have helped to stop the sale of this artwork from going ahead. We will continue to explore all options to bring back Banksy to the community where it belongs. It is now known if the new mural which appeared today is a Banksy piece. The new mural was spotted by Andy Gordon. He told the BBC: 'We thought we were just going along to see the gap in the wall and were surprised to see something else had appeared. It could be that Wood Green in Haringey has got its Banksy back. It could be a happy ending,' he added. Local residents, who become attached to the work by the famous street artist, were left furious that a piece of work given to the community for free could be sold for profit. Outraged art fans had been bombarding the auction house with abusive calls and e-mails. It is thought the rat could be the reclusive graffiti artist's way of voicing his verdict on the row over his original piece. Frederic Thut, owner of Fine Art Auctions Miami, previously insisted the sale of the artwork is legitimate, but admitted he had been inundated with angry phone calls and e-mails from the UK. Councillor Alan Strickland says the artwork was a 'gift' to his community and had instigated a campaign to get the artwork returned by urging people to e-mail the U.S. auction website.