Ed Sheeran's Dunedin mural suffers bizarre graffiti attack

It's only been up for a week but Ed Sheeran's controversial Dunedin mural has already been defaced.

The mural, by Tyler Kennedy-Stent, suffered the attack overnight, with the works "Coyete F*** U" scrawled over it in green spray paint, reports Fairfax.

Kennedy-Stent told the media company the graffiti was bad news and he wished "they'd done something more creative".

The mural was painted by Kennedy-Stent to honour the pop star's visit, when he begins a three-show run at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Thursday.

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Thanks to @teddysphotos , @lanewaybathst @dunedinstreetart @dunedinnz @chalkym and all of the people who offered food and coffee for all of the help! ❤ All done! #paintthetowned #winsorandnewton #watercolor #mural #painting #qorcoldpressgrounds #goldenpaints #resene #edsheeran

A post shared by tylerkennedystent (@tylerkennedystent) on Mar 12, 2018 at 1:45pm PDT

But the painting has been controversial, with Breakfast presenter Hayley Holt sparking a war of words with the pop star after calling him "boring" and asking if he deserved his own mural.

Sheeran hit back by performing in a jersey with her name on it at his first Auckland show on Saturday night, and later sending it to Holt.

He said he respected Holt's opinion. Holt told viewers Sheeran had been the bigger man throughout their feud.

Holt ended up in the mural, with her name being used in a heart tattoo on his arm.

The mural will reportedly be fixed before tens of thousands of fans arrive in Dunedin ahead of Sheeran's shows.