Postboxes that were painted gold across a Kent town are now being targeted again but this time in a rather more unusual style.

The sudden transformation of a string of Royal Mail postboxes from red to gold around Dartford earlier this month led police to release an image of a man and arrest a suspect.

However, following the arrest on February 13 a number of the postboxes have been targeted again.

Despite Royal Mail working to return all 26 back to their original red, many have recently been targeted for a different paint job.

They have been daubed with pink and yellow spots in homage to the 90s’ TV character Mr Blobby. One has even been transformed to look like a Cadbury Creme Egg.

Whilst some residents welcomed the gold postboxes, the new designs have had a mixed reception from others, with many branding them “pure vandalism”.

One resident blasted them on social media for making the area look bad.

“Now these are just getting ridiculous,” she said. “The gold ones looked good but these ones are just making the town look worse and I thought it couldn’t get any worse.”

Another said: “This is getting silly now”.

Many slated them as looking “absolutely terrible” and “such a mess”.

Commenting on the Mr Blobby design, one resident said: “How absolutely stupid. A waste of paint. Obviously haven't got anything more useful to do. Definitely no Banksy.”

A minority appreciated the art, saying they looked “brilliant” and were “hilarious”.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We have been engaging with Kent Police on this matter and are supporting their investigation.

“In the meantime, we are restoring the affected postboxes to their original red.”

Police said investigations are ongoing.

Royal Mail refused to disclose the cost of repainting the postboxes, some of which have been targeted again since being returned to their original colour.

It said 26 postboxes had been targeted between January 31 and February 5.

The majority of the incidents happened in Temple Hill and surrounding roads.

Inquiries were carried out and a CCTV image was released showing a man officers were hoping would help with their investigations.

On February 13, a man matching the description of the suspect was arrested while constables were on a foot patrol in Oldfield Place, Dartford.

He has been bailed until May 4 pending inquiries.

In 2012, a number of post boxes were repainted gold by Royal Mail to honour home-town medal winners after the London Olympics.