Cartrain has reignited a bizarre feud with millionaire artist Damien Hirst by "borrowing" pencils worth £500,000

The artist known as Cartrain, from Leytonstone, has been arrested along with his father after taking a pack of Faber Castell Mongol 482 pencils belonging to Hirst's Pharmacy exhibit, which is based on his work at the former restaurant of the same name in Notting Hill.

Cartrain said he stole the pencils in revenge after the Brit Art pioneer threatened to the sue him over unauthorised use of his iconic work, For the Love of God, a diamond encrusted skull.

He is also annoyed that Hirst has refused to return the collage work, which he believes breached his copyright.

Cartrain's 49-year-old father was also arrested and bailed by police in connection with the theft from Tate Britain.

The teenager, who is currently on bail after being arrested, is waiting to find out if he will be charged for damaging Hirst's artwork which is valued at £10 million while the pencils are worth £500,000.

He told The Independent: “I went to Tate Britain and by chance had a golden opportunity to borrow a packet of pencils from the Pharmacy exhibit.

“A few weeks later I went out and I returned home to find out the art and antiques squad from New Scotland Yard had called round with a warrant for my arrest.”

The artist was amazed as to how lax security was at the Tate.

He said:"I just went up a picked up the pencils, had a look at the other exhibitions and then left.

"The security was really lax. It was quite surprising."

After the theft he was stopped by a woman carrying out a survey on behalf of the Tate.

Catrain, 17, said: "She asked me what I thought to the Pharmacy exhibit. I said it feels like there is something missing but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"She didn't get the joke."

He added he planned to return to the Tate to replace the pencils with an cheaper pack but had second thoughts when he noticed the gallery had improved security.

Cartrain, who styles himself on street artist Banksy, believed the pilfering of the pencils was part of a harmless tit-for-tat exchange with Hirst.

He even created a fake police appeal for the missing pencils which he put up around London, including on Leytonstone Police Station.

The telephone number on the appeal is a number for Damien Hirst's office.

It warned that the stolen pencils had “a distinctive red eraser at one end” and were “missing presumed lost.”

Cartrain's previous dispute resulted him settling out of court with Hirst, paying him £200.

But a group of artists called Red Rag To A Bull, who campaign against heavy-handed copyright control, have created their own art works based on Mr Hirst's sculpture, and sold copies of them online.

The sales of the works have raised £200, which they have handed back in “compensation” to Cartrain.

James Cauty, a former member of legendary 1980s pop duo The KLF and also known for later burning £1 million with the K Foundation, was at the forefront of the artists' exercise.