The council has drawn £750,000 from an "adverse weather reserve" fund to cut the overspend to £250,000.

The county, which has 5,000 miles of roads, is to establish a special reserve of £1.5m to fix the potholes which appeared in roads and footpaths when the snow cleared.

It also expects catering income lost as schools closed in the severe weather to cost it £80,000.

But as the financial year draws to a close, executive members have been told the budget position has improved since the last report, in November, with financial pressure areas offset by underspending in others.

Executive member for resources Coun Andrew Tebbutt said: "Clearly we are glad that the senior officers and the heads of service have applied themselves diligently to trying to make as many savings as possible in the budget."

Big savings have been made on staffing, many posts being left vacant in anticipation of cuts in the financial year starting in April.

A report to the executive by director of resources Steve Mason said: "Staff continue to work excessive hours and regular overtime to maintain service levels."
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