UTTOXETER briefly got its wish for golden post box in honour of Adam Peaty - but Royal Mail did not see the funny side of the prank.
Earlier today, Peaty's mum, Caroline, said she would not give up the fight to get a golden post box in town after Royal Mail announced it would not be providing one.
Many home towns of athletes who won gold at London 2012 were given the commemorative boxes to mark their success.
Britain's main postal service told the Advertiser no such commemorations would be repeated for gold medalists at Rio 2016.
he postbox was repainted within hours of the overnight stunt.
However, one Peaty supporter took matters into their own hands and painted the Kingfisher Way post box, in Bird Land, in accordance with the medal Peaty won in the 100m breast stroke.
Within hours, Royal Mail had sent out an operative to repaint the box and sent out a plea for others not to repeat the act.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: " We would ask people not to paint our postboxes gold. As the host nation in 2012, our gold post boxes were a unique, highly visible and fitting way to recognise the successes of Team GB and ParalympicsGB.
"In late 2012, we confirmed that all 110 post boxes would remain gold on a permanent basis, with a plaque naming the athlete and their achievement, or the location's connection with London 2012.
"Brazil, as the host nation of Rio 2016, will now have the honour of celebrating the Games in its own way.
"We are liaising with our engineers to ensure that this postbox is repainted red as soon as possible."
Speaking this morning on the day she returned to work, less than 24 hours after getting back from Rio, Mrs Peaty said: "I was really disappointed to hear we won't be getting a golden post box.
"Believe me, I'll be pushing to get that decision reversed.
"I'd love it to be the five shops post box, in the Heath, as that's the one our family has always used.
"I think everyone in town would really love it if we had something to mark what Adam achieved in the pool."
Mrs Peaty's mum, Mavis Williams, last week spoke of her wish for a golden post box to mark her grandson's achievements.
The 74-year-old, of the Hornbeams, said: "I really hope Royal Mail can provide us with a golden post box to show how proud everyone is of Adam in Uttoxeter.
"I know the main post box in town is the one at the post office in Carter Street and that would be the most obvious choice for them. ut I'd really like to see the one at the Five Shops made a golden post box.
""That's the one Mark and Caroline use and the shop's the place where I get all my papers from, so I think it would be really appropriate to have a golden box there.
"I spent £4.50 on newspapers on the Sunday after his first heat so I could cut out all the articles about him."
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "London 2012 was a unique occasion for the UK. We hosted the Games and our athletes performed extraordinarily well.
"Because of our status as the host nation, Royal Mail was honoured to mark the achievement of our athletes through gold post boxes and special stamps – the first country to do so.
"The honour of hosting the Games has now passed to Brazil. Brazil Post has already announced that it is producing a series of stamps to celebrate the Games.
"We wish Team GB the very best of luck."