A Banksy mural has been sold to a private collector for £403,000, raising enough to secure the future of a struggling Bristol charity, the Broad Plain Boys’ Club.

Mobile Lovers, which depicts a couple embracing while both checking their mobile phones, appeared on a wall near the club. The artwork was initially at the centre of a dispute between the council and charity until Banksy stepped to say that the charity should benefit from the sale of the artwork.

The youth club had been in danger of closing within 12 months because of funding cuts.

Dennis Stinchcombe, manager of the Broad Plain Boys’ Club told BBC News that, the money was “beyond our dreams”.

“I know we had other offers [but they were] pie in the sky. This money is in the bank. We are much richer today and know that we can carry on for some time to come,” he said.

The artwork had been valued at up to £3m.

The club has six staff members and works with 1,000 young people a month. It was struggling after losing council funding worth £12,000 a year, and a contract with a local school, which was forced to close down.

Young people from the club had taken part in a sponsored bike ride, swimathon and walkathon, but the club was stuggling to raise the £120,000 needed to stay open.