Shoppers in a town centre thought they were hearing things when speakers linked to the CCTV system started to make seemingly nonsensical broadcasts.
Passer-by Emma Martinez was walking through the town centre in Middlesbrough at around 2:30pm when she started to hear someone speaking. She said: "I think someone had hacked into the sound system.
"I think they were talking about BP but not sure as I did not catch what they said. People were looking, but not everyone could make out where it was coming from."
One broadcast started: "Good morning, good morning, good morning, and what a lovely day it is. Rise and shine. Rise and shine," before playing jolly jingle music.
Another, sounding like the voice of Boris Johnson, said: "We intend to unite and level up across the whole of our United Kingdom."
Asked about the strange voices, Andrew Glover, of Middlesbrough Council, explained: "This is a temporary installation as part of Middlesbrough Art Weekender. The speakers will be used for one hour a day between now and Sunday."
According to the weekender's programme brochure, the broadcast appeared to be the 'LOL' performance, listed as "a sonic intervention through Middlesbrough's CCTV surveillance network".
Created by Sound Art Brighton artist Olivia Louvel, it is described: "At sites in the centre of town, passers-by can hear political slogans, news headlines - read by the AI voice 'Kate' - and the sounds of protest, reflecting the current state of political affairs in Britain."
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