Banksy has returned to the London Underground with a piece encouraging people to wear a face mask, the BBC reports.

A video posted on his Instagram page shows a man, believed to be the enigmatic artist, disguised as a professional cleaner.

He can been seen ordering passengers away as he gets to work, stencilling rats around the inside of a carriage.

Transport for London (TfL) said the art was removed "some days ago" in line with its "strict anti-graffiti policy".

The work, called If You Don't Mask, You Don't Get, features a number of rats in pandemic-inspired poses and wearing face masks.

One rodent stencilled on the Circle Line train appears to be sneezing, while another is shown spraying anti-bacterial gel.

The artist's name is also daubed across the driver's door of a train.

At the end of the video, the words "I get lockdown" appear on the side of a station wall before a train's doors close to reveal the phrase "but I get up again", and Chumbawamba's 1997 song Tubthumping kicks in.