Millions of pounds are set to be spent on repairing Surrey roads damaged by the Christmas floods.

Highways chiefs at Surrey County Council have said dozens of the council’s inspectors are continuing to assess the damage caused by the December downpours to the county's roads, bridges, drains and footpaths.

But the council said it estimates it will need to spend millions of pounds on repairs.

A county council spokesman said: “These repairs range from filling cracks and clearing debris to removing fallen trees, fixing bridges and repairing road surfaces, and the current repair bill could rise once the last flooded roads are reopened and inspectors can check the damage.”

The spokesman said: “Since storms led to burst riverbanks and wider flooding over Christmas and the New Year, the county council has worked around the clock to clear hundreds of flooded roads and fallen trees, and the county council’s fire and rescue service has responded to thousands of calls.”

Last year, the county council spent an extra £5 million from savings to fix roads damaged by ice and snow.

That was on top of ongoing maintenance and the £100 million five-year programme to overhaul 300 miles of the county's roads most in need of repairs.

Council leader David Hodge said: “We spent £5 million in savings to fix roads damaged by last winter’s snow and ice, and we’ll spend the money we need to so we can repair Surrey’s roads affected by the recent severe weather.”

Coun Hodge said: “We can’t put an exact figure on this repair bill yet, as we’re still assessing the full extent of the damage, but it will run into millions of pounds. “In the meantime, we’re continuing to do all we can along with district and borough councils, to help Surrey communities.”

In a run-down of storm-related work, the council said it has taken more than 3,500 highways calls, with fire crews receiving another 2,000, it has responded to around 315 instances of flooding affecting roads, cleared 750 fallen trees, and dealt with nearly 350 other incidents.

The council said it has also supported vulnerable people through regular contact and home visits.