How did Banksy put up a statue in central London?

"The great thing about Banksy artwork is that it makes life so much more exciting in the best possible way," says one of the comments beneath the street artist's latest installation.

Under the cover of darkness, the man whose identity is not officially known installed a statue on a plinth in the heart of London showing a besuited man walking forward off a plinth, apparently blinded by a flag covering his face.

James Peak, creator of the BBC podcast series The Banksy Story, asked a question many people have been left wondering: "How has he got a low-loader to there with all the security and put up a massive resin statue?"

In a video posted to Instagram on Thursday, the artist showed glimpses of how he was able to install the plinth in the early hours of Wednesday.

Although the artwork itself would have been months in the making, the operation itself would have been swift.

You can see yellow traffic cones marking off the area as a large vehicle pulls up before deploying lorry-load stabilisers and someone in an orange hi-viz vest.

Someone with protective goggles is seen briefly before the statue is lifted on to the plinth using a hook.

Peak said: "He's got a really big team who are a very, very experienced crew.

"They're the sort of dudes who can set up a Metallica concert in 24 hours: groovy folks but actually extremely organised and professional when it comes to getting things done.

"They've probably surveilled the area, worked out what happens when, gone in the early hours with a low-loader truck and they probably sited it in a few minutes, at the quietest time possible."

It is located in Waterloo Place in St James's, close to Pall Mall and Carlton House Terrace in Westminster.

It is very close to other statues including those of Edward VII, Florence Nightingale and the Crimean War Memorial.

Many government buildings are located nearby, along with a number of foreign embassies and private members' clubs.

Judging by the comments beneath his social media post, it has been very well received.

"Classic Banksy," says one. "Always on point," posts another. "Tell me it's permanent," chimes a third.

As usual, its arrival has made news not just in the UK - the Western Daily Press headlined with "Banksy's still a step ahead" - but around the world too.

Banksy podcaster Peak added: "It's really clever. It captures a very precise moment in time, which most statues never manage to do, where the flag's kind of blinding this puffed up, besuited leader who's about to step off a precipice and look very silly indeed.