A budget to fix flood-damaged Surrey streets has had a £3 million boost.

For Surrey County Council said the substantial boost has come about through savings found in the first year of its major roads programme, Operation Horizon.

The welcome boost has come as the county council continues to clear up at least £15 million of damage to streets flooded since Christmas.

A county council spokesman said its road bosses have delivered £3 million of savings in one year thanks to smarter working on a programme focusing on achieving long-term improvements.

Launched last April to overhaul the 300 miles of Surrey’s roads most in need of fixing, Operation Horizon has saved the £3 million through highways teams carrying out more resurfacing at once, and negotiating better deals with contractors.

The money has boosted a central budget that funds both planned repairs and thousands of urgent pothole patching works.

In the first two months of this year, 18,500 potholes were filled in – 4,500 more than the same period a year earlier.

The council is currently having hundreds of potholes fixed daily as part of a repair blitz which was launched as an urgent response to flood damage to Surrey’s roads since Christmas.

John Furey, Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “We face a mammoth repair bill to fix our roads hammered by flooding since Christmas, so this £3 million saving helps to ease pressure on council finances as we continue our major clear-up operation.”