COMMUNITIES across the country have spruced up their streets in preparation for Her Majesty’s 90th birthday.

But one councillor is calling for locals to go the step further in Bicester.

Oxfordshire County Councillor for Bicester Les Sibley is calling for the Clean for the Queen initiative to stretch its reign to cover "iconic" postboxes that carry Her Majesty’s initials.

Mr Sibley lamented too many postboxes across the town have dropped into a "tired and drab state" and said it is the perfect time to bring them back up to scratch to make them "fit for a Queen".

He said: "I have spotted what a poor state so many are in and with inspiration from the Queen's birthday I thought, we, the people of Bicester could take this as an opportunity to recognise the occasion.

"It would be wonderful to try and make it a community initiative to clean up the areas around the postboxes, with permission from Royal Mail.

"The worst one I have seen on my patch is Villiers Road and not just the boxes but the areas around them. There is also one down by Tesco which has an indentation in front which fills up with water when it rains and makes it hard to get to.

"Each of them have got particular maintenance issues and it would just be a nice gesture to make them fit for the Queen, you never know she may even fancy a visit to Bicester afterwards."

This month, the councillor has been pounding the streets to spot the worst offenders in his patch across Bicester West.

It is hoped that, with the permission of Royal Mail, communities will be able to clean up and cut back areas around the post boxes and, where necessary, add a fresh lick of paint.

Mr Sibley said: "I would question when was the last time that the postboxes were repainted, I can't remember them being done in my patch.

"Have they even been seen to during Her Majesty's reign?"

The councillor even suggested that Royal Mail could go that once step further to celebrate Her Majesty’s milestone with gold details added to the initials on each postbox and its crown.

Community clean-up group Bicester Green Gym secretary Bea Foster said: "I know there is a shocking postbox in Blenheim Drive and we did get involved with the Clean for the Queen initiative back in April for her birthday.

"We would of course get behind any project and be happy to help with coming up with ideas for a community clean up."

Mr Sibley added: "It is a simple idea to spruce them up in honour of the Queen's 90th birthday, a permanent reminder of the milestone and those to come."