Royal Mail's digital post boxes, which were rolled out in Swindon for the first time this year, have become the target of vandalism.
The 'automated' post boxes were part of a huge Royal Mail redesign and replaced several of the red pillar boxes that have stood in Britain for almost two centuries.
They first arrived in Swindon in January 2026, and were labelled Royal Mail's "biggest redesign in its 175-year history".
Now, several post boxes in North Swindon have been vandalised, including one of the digital boxes that has been in place for less than a year.
The boxes were found covered in graffiti and tags, causing one councillor to intervene.
"A few weeks ago, I reported the graffiti damage of these Royal Mail post boxes. They have now been repainted and look nice again," said Councillor Josh Woods, who represents Even Swindon.
"If you see anything else like this in the Even Swindon/Rodbourne area please get in touch."
Metal boxes belonging to BT and Virgin Media were also targeted in the vandalism attack, as well as the doors and brickwork of a building belonging to a gas company.
Speaking to the Swindon Advertiser, resident Sue said: "It's such a shame to see those new ones covered in graffiti especially.
"I don't particularly like them or use them, I don't think they're really for my generation, but for people to target the new ones - well it just shows why we can't have nice new shiny things.
"The graffiti does a lot more damage on these digital ones too because they rely on that scanner and the QR codes, so all it takes is one inconsiderate individual to paint over the scanner and it ruins it for everyone."
The post boxes have now been repainted by Royal Mail, but Sue raised concerns that digital post boxes could be targeted by further vandalism.