By Kerry Mcdermott PUBLISHED: 09:34 EST, 13 August 2012 | UPDATED: 14:46 EST, 13 August 2012 Accused: Leon Lawrence, pictured outside Southwark Crown Court last year, denies charges of handling stolen goods and attempting to convert criminal property Artwork by renowned graffiti artist Banksy was ripped from a hotel wall and put up for sale on eBay for £17,000, a court was told. The work, known as Sperm Alarm and attributed to the famous guerrilla graffiti artist, was allegedly put on the online auction site by Leon Lawrence, 32, after it had been stolen from a wall outside the four-star Hesperia Hotel in central London.
@highlight
The piece known as 'Sperm Alarm' vanished from outside London's Hesperia Hotel, and later appeared on the online auction site
@highlight
Pictures of the artwork on the hotel's wall - and of the space left when it was ripped off - were discovered on a computer belonging to Leon Lawrence, Southwark Crown Court heard
@highlight
The 32-year-old denies charges of handling stolen goods and attempting to convert criminal property
High-profile art collectors have forked out huge sums to own a @placeholder original.