There are more than 2,300 pot holes peppering Norfolk's roads, council bosses have revealed in the wake of one of the harshest winters in recent memory.

Eastern Daily Press: Snow drifts engulf the raod to Ringsfield near Beccles during the Beast from the East. Picture: Nick ButcherSnow drifts engulf the raod to Ringsfield near Beccles during the Beast from the East. Picture: Nick Butcher (Image: Archant © 2018)

Statistics revealed by Norfolk County Council have shown that, as of noon on Friday, there are 2,325 pot holes in need of repair across the county.

It comes after the Beast from the East bit into the county's roads, in a season which saw temperatures plummet and roads need almost 1,000 more pot hole repairs than in the previous winter.

Between November 5, 2017 and March 27, 2018, 3,229 repairs were completed, compared with 2,347 for the same period in the previous year.

This figure also means some 5,554 pot holes in total have been reported to date since the beginning of November 2017.

Eastern Daily Press: A pothole spotted in Billingford by Debbie Christie. Picture: SubmittedA pothole spotted in Billingford by Debbie Christie. Picture: Submitted (Image: Archant)

Of the 2,325 remaining holes, 1,709 have been inspected and repairs ordered, while the remaining 616 are awaiting inspection.

A spokesman for Norfolk County Council said: 'We currently have 27 patching gangs out in the county which is being supplemented by four Velocity patching machines to help us fill pot holes as quickly as possible.'

Meanwhile, the heavy snowfall saw the county's gritters travel almost 10 times the distance around the Earth's equator.

Gritters made 113 runs between November 11, 2017, and March 28, 2018, covering 2,200 miles of road in the process.

Eastern Daily Press: A pothole spotted in Norfolk. Picture: Adie ShuckfordA pothole spotted in Norfolk. Picture: Adie Shuckford (Image: Archant)

This distance equated to a total of 248,600 miles - a greater distance than the 238,900 miles separating the Earth from the moon.

The winter also saw gritters double the amount of miles covered in the 2016/17 winter, which was 118,674 miles.

It has been estimated that the additional costs of winter services could be in the region of £800,000, though this did not take into account repairs.

The council said: 'The additional cost of delivering the winter service will look to be met by using existing 2017/18 budgets, using reserves if necessary, but it will not be at the expense of any Norfolk County Council service.'

Last month, the Department for Transport revealed an additional £3.4m had been allocated to repairing roads in Norfolk.

In numbers

The 248,600 miles accumulated by the county's gritters equate to:

• One trip to the moon - plus 9,700 miles

• 12 return trips to Adelaide, Australia

• 5,624 times the distance between Carrow Road and Portman Road

These gritters used approximately 25,000 tonnes of salt. This works out as:

• 4,166 full-grown African elephants

• 144.5 times the weight of the largest recorded blue whale

• The weight of 1976 double decker buses

In each run, gritters covered 2,200 miles, the equivalent of:

• Norwich to Las Vegas four times

• Norwich to London 18 times

• Norwich to Cambridge 34 times

The extra distance travelled compared with the previous winter, 129,926 miles, equates to:

• 11 return trips to Tokyo, Japan