Bob Dylan appeared to briefly acknowledge that he had been awarded the Nobel prize in literature on his website only to change his mind hours later.

The mercurial singer-songwriter has remained silent since being awarded the prestigious prize last week at a ceremony in Stockholm.

The award was mentioned on his website which plugged a new collection of Dylan’s lyrics, describing Dylan as the “winner of the Nobel Prize in literature”. However, the line disappeared from the site after less than a day. The single sentence was the only public admission Dylan had given to the award.

It remains unclear whether reference to the prize was removed from Dylan’s website on his request, or added in error.

Some fans have theorised that Dylan is refusing to accept the award because of Alfred Nobel's history as an armaments manufacturer.