Weather-hit roads need £500,000

An extra £500,000 is needed to repair roads across Cumbria damaged over a 12-day period of bad weather earlier this month, it has been revealed.

More than £1m has so far been set aside by Cumbria County Council to deal with increased pot holes and flood damage.

But horrendous conditions between 10 and 22 January mean more cash is needed to keep many roads open.

More than 3,000 separate incidents were reported to a special highways hotline during the bad weather.

Repair teams

A full council meeting in Kendal on Thursday will be told about the additional funding needs.

The council said January 2008 had seen the busiest period for road repairs since the devastating floods three years earlier.

A council spokesman said: "If approved, the £500,000 will pay for extra repair teams geared up to help blitz the problem from 28 January.

"If the plan goes ahead they will join the extra resources that have already been deployed to tackle the issues with various highways response teams diverted to deal with flooding and carriageway repairs."