A statue of the devil with an erection appeared out of nowhere in Vancouver this week. 

The statue is nearly 9ft tall and was spotted next to the SkyTrain tracks on Tuesday morning but city officials were quick to remove it. 

City of Vancouver spokesperson Sara Couper explained: "The statue was not a piece of City commissioned artwork and consequently it has been removed." 

While the statue offended some of the city's residents, others want it back.  Darryl Greer has launched a petition to have it reinstated and has so far gathered over 2,000 signatures in support of his cause. 

The petition argues that if Vancouver officials can install a nearly $100,000 porcelain dog statue on Main Street, then there's no reason why it can't erect a Satan statue that hasn't cost them anything. 

"The Giant Beelzebub-With-a-Boner statue should be reinstalled as a piece of public art and serve as a reminder that art is in the eye of the beholder and nothing more," the petition reads. 

City officials have said they are holding the statue to be collected by its owner, while the Hot Art Wet City Gallery on Main Street has offered to give it a permanent home.  

The gallery tweeted: "If you have the devil with a boner statue, I'm happy to display it here at our gallery for Sept/October. Maybe forever."