According to the council, the machine will more than double capacity.

Milton Keynes council mail services supervisor Paul Richardson explained that like all council mailing departments, his came under pressure in March to send out council tax bills.

He said: “We used to have 15 days, but every year, we have more bills to send as Milton Keynes expands.

“Of the 700,000 items we mailed last year, 99,000 were sent in one month. It meant we had to work from 9am to midnight for 11 days.”

The Council went out to tender to six manufacturers before placing the order with KAS Paper Systems.