This is why a post box in Leeds city centre has been painted blue

Boxes in several cities around the country - including Leeds - have been repainted blue.

The paint job on Briggate has left a few people scratching their heads, although can now be revealed to be a move to celebrate the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Painters of one of the boxes in Southampton gave the game away after taping a sign to it that read "this box has been painted blue to celebrate the 2019 Cricket World Cup".

A spokesman for the International Cricket Council (ICC) said: "This is a joint activation between the Cricket World Cup 2019 and Royal Mail which will be officially launched next week."

Other boxes treated to the paint job are in Nottingham and Taunton, Devon.

The Cricket World Cup is hosted every four years and returns to England this year for the first time in 20 years. The tournament starts on Thursday, when England will play South Africa.

The move by the Royal Mail, who have so far not commented on the blue post boxes, follows the 2012 Olympics when various post boxes in towns and cities across the country were painted gold for each of the games' gold medallists.

A post box outside Leeds Art Gallery ion the city centre is painted gold as a tribute to women's boxing champion Nicola Adams, while a second in Horsforth was gilded to honour the Brownlee brothers.