DETAILS of multi-million pound emergency costs to help get Cumbria back on its feet after devastating floods wreaked havoc across the area have been revealed for the first time.

A new report shows Cumbria County Council forked out an extra £2.1 million of in the six months since the county was struck by the natural disaster.

The newly released figure - spent on an array of specialist surveys and works to roads and bridges - takes the authority's total financial burden to £4.8 million since December.

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The majority of the money came from a Department of Transport grant and is separate from the price tag fixed to the A591 arterial road repair which was paid for by Highways England.

CCC's chief executive Diane Wood was given special powers to authorise the spending of funds without seeking the permission of councillors in a move designed to prevent delays to the recovery effort.

The list of settled invoices is to be presented to members of the council bosses on Thursday - when the power awarded to Mrs Wood will be revoked and normal authorisation procedures for council spending will return to normal.

It shows £140,000 was spent on bridge inspections in South Lakeland, £130,000 spent on dive inspections of bridges, £14,500 on sandbags and sand and nearly £16,000 to ensure workers restoring the A591 continued over the Christmas period.

The document also reveals the value of a number of contracts was significantly higher than estimated, including design and investigation advice for temporary access to the A591 which was initially expected to cost £9,000 but had an actual price tag of £83,000.

Further invoices thought to total around £378,000 are yet to be settled.

The report on the matter states: "In December 2015, the Cabinet agreed to delegate certain functions to the Chief Executive to enable her to take decisions quickly in response to Storm Desmond.

"For a significant period following December 4 2015 there were circumstances of extreme urgency, including immediate danger to life or property, which have required the council to incur expenditure without allowing the time for the council’s usual procedures to be followed.

"The aim was to ensure with certainty that officers had the necessary powers to take all urgent decisions required in connection with the flood recovery programme, with the necessary expediency."