SPRING cleaning is well underway across the Kingdom as Fife Council works to repair the damage done by the severe weather of early March.

The Beast from the East, as it was dubbed, struck in the first week of the month and for a spell cut off the likes of Cluny and Benarty for a spell and made roads and pavements like skating rinks.

The effect of drifting on side streets meant many were difficult for several days and it was only by the beginning of the second week of the month that normality started to return.

Fife Council's Roads & Transportation spokesperson, Councillor Altany Craik explained that the council has been hard at work dealing with the large number of potholes that have appeared as a result of the harsh weather conditions.

He added: "Since the severe weather hit around 4,500 potholes have been repaired by our roads teams.

"Roads inspectors have been out and about inspecting the damage and initially there were up to 14 pothole repair teams allocated to tackle the backlog.

"We've had more than double the number of potholes compared with the same period last year.

"Thanks to the efforts of the teams we're now back on track and there are now five teams on full time pothole repairs."

Street sweeping teams have also been out and about removing grit from footways.

Cllr Craik concluded: "The spring clean-up is well underway and we are deploying machinery and men in tandem to sweep off pavements, traffic islands and roundabouts.

"Areas of high footfall and high ground are being targeted across Fife and teams are planning their work on a locality basis."

The visit of the Beast from the East capped a generally cold winter with a lot of frost which has a marked effect on road surfaces.

The total cost of the repairs needed caused by the March snow and ice will be hundreds of thousands of pounds.