A snow plough driver in Norway was shocked when he uncovered a 'drunk' cyclist while clearing heavy snow from a bike path.

The man, who drives a plough for a local council contractor, was clearing away snow in Notteroy, south of Oslo.

"I saw some handlebars poking out of the snow," the driver told Aftenposten.

"When I got closer, I saw that there was a man on a bike completely covered by snow. I also noticed that the man was wearing a reflective vest."

The driver immediately called an ambulance who took the unconscious man to hospital, where he recovered from a severe chill.

The buried man, a 26-year-old from the nearby island of Tjome, told police he had no recollection of what had happened.

"He said that the last thing he remembered was riding home from a friend's house.