A stencilled work by the elusive British street artist Banksy has been stolen from outside the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the museum announced Tuesday.

The image features a masked rat brandishing a utility knife, the instrument he uses to cut out his stencils.

The Pompidou Centre said it suspected the thieves of using a saw to cut the sign, which had been fitted with a plexiglass cover to prevent it being pilfered.

It said its the museum's security guards had already caught thieves trying to snatch the work a year ago.

The Pompidou, which houses Europe's biggest collection of contemporary art but does not own the Banksy work, said it had filed a police complaint for destruction of property.

AFP