Residents of an English town have been left furious after several postboxes were mysteriously painted green.
It’s been happening in locations on the outskirts of Huddersfield in recent days.
West Yorkshire Police have launched an investigation after residents complained about “vandalism of the Queen's property”.
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It was originally thought that the idea may have been to do with a Green Party supporter making a point ahead of the May elections.
However local Green party councillor Andrew Cooper said: "Nothing to do with us and not the sort of thing the Green Party would do."
Residents are now suspecting a possible link to Ireland, Yorkshire Live reports.
Postboxes in Ireland were originally red and seen as a symbol of British rule, but were painted over in green when the country gained its independence.
Kirklees councillor Bernard McGuin, who has an Irish background and who drew attention to what was happening, claimed it could be “a Sinn Fein propaganda stunt” after the party's success in the north’s elections.
"I am astonished by what has happened but it seems that someone involved in Sinn Fein could be involved here," he said.
“Residents consider what has been done as vandalism.
"Hopefully the boxes will be returned to the red of tradition. I hope we have an answer from Royal Mail about what is going on. As a dour Yorkshire Conservative, I miss the red ones."
Zena Walker, who runs a hardware store that used to be a Post Office, was shocked when she turned up for work on Thursday and found one of the boxes repainted next to her store.
She said: "It must have been done at some point when I left here on Wednesday at 4.30pm and when I came in at 8am on Thursday.
"I immediately reported it to the police as it is vandalism of the Queen's property. I was given a crime reference number and I want it repainted in its proper colour as soon as possible.
“On Thursday, it was the talk of the shop with people asking what had happened."
Margaret Hardy, 79, who has lived in the Edgerton suburb for more than 40 years added: "Edgerton is a conservation area so we take any kind of 'tradition-baiting' extremely seriously here. I just hope the police are doing their best to find the culprit.”
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We do not know who repainted these postboxes, and are reporting this matter to the police. We will be repainting the boxes in the iconic red as soon as possible."
Both Sinn Fein and West Yorkshire Police have been contacted for comment.
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