Royal Mail unveils solar-powered 'post boxes of the future'

A 175-year-old icon goes digital with high-tech parcel boxes

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Royal Mail's iconic red post boxes have undergone the biggest resdesign in its 175 year history-including solar panels and scanners so they now accept parcels.

The postal service unveiled Britain's “post boxes of the future” on Wednesday which are to be rolled out nationally in the next few months.

A throwback to their original Victorian design, they allow customers to send and return parcels - up to the size of a shoebox - through a post box for the first time.

Royal Mail is rolling out 3,500 solar-powered post boxes across the UK as it bids to compete with private courier delivery services and parcel drop-off lockers.