IT was the Mural Mystery of Zampa Road after the iconic painting of Lions record goal-scorer and former manager Neil Harris disappeared overnight.
The image, originally done by Kieran MacIver, showing the former striker with his arms outstretched, was etched on the railway bridge tunnel and was a beloved feature for Millwall fans entering the Lions’ Den on match-days.
Tourist football supporters from abroad would stop to take photos of it, and it was a reminder of the club’s resilience, Harris having fought his way back from testicular cancer to overtake Teddy Sheringham at the top of the all-time club scoring chart.
But on Wednesday morning there was no sign of it, a fresh coat of paint wiping out an iconic piece of Millwall history.
NewsAtDen confirmed that this was not an April Fools’ joke, and contacted Network Rail to see if we could get to the bottom of the matter.
Network Rail Kent and Sussex told us: “We were not aware of this mural in Zampa Road and so unable to warn our graffiti removal team that it was there. We work with artists and communities across the South East to make our bridges and viaducts better places for people to live around and we have completed murals for other football clubs in London, too.
“However, those structures are owned and maintained by Network Rail and people do need to talk to us before taking action to paint their own artworks. We make sure the artwork on our property reached our standards and that the artists have appropriate insurance and safety arrangements before work begins.
“If anyone is interested in working with us to improve one of our structures, please get in touch with Eddie at eddie.burton@networkrail.co.uk.”
The also tweeted responding to fans’ concerns, and said they welcomed artists interested in Millwall projects:
We have a great deal of space on Bolina Road itself (the 'blue' bridges) + elsewhere and work with artists and organisations to get their work up on our property. We hate to mention Charlton in a Millwall thread but…https://t.co/TcSlZ23gEu /2
— Network Rail Kent & Sussex (@NetworkRailSE) April 1, 2020
Sorry about that Addick moment in this thread. We'd be delighted to see something similar for Millwall as we know that when we have artwork on our viaducts, it keeps the vandals away and gives everyone a bit of pride (as we're sure the recently-exised mural did too). /3
— Network Rail Kent & Sussex (@NetworkRailSE) April 1, 2020
Finally, if we don't know about an artwork because it hasn't been arranged with us, it will eventually be painted out unless we know not to. Do contact Eddie as we are always interested in making our structures stand out in positive ways. ?? pic.twitter.com/GE44an5DET
— Network Rail Kent & Sussex (@NetworkRailSE) April 1, 2020
Main image: @JKelly1882