A Southland student has kept her driver's licence despite recording a breath alcohol level of more than 700mcg.

A Southern Institute of Technology student has kept her driver's licence so she can continue to study, despite recording a breath alcohol level of more than 700mcg.

Judge Russell Walker told her to make the most of the opportunity she had been given and learn from it, because she would never be given it again.

Kennedy Anne White, 22, appeared in the Gore District Court on Wednesday on one charge of driving with excess breath alcohol.

She was fined $1000, which she was ordered to pay at $50 a week, but was not disqualified from driving.

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The court heard White was driving a Honda motor vehicle when she was stopped in Medway St, Gore on August 31.

Police noticed she was affected by alcohol and after she was taken back to the Gore police station she recorded a level of 779mcg.

In explanation, she stated she had consumed three or four cans of Jack Daniels prior to driving.

White's lawyer, Tina Williams, appealed to the judge to be lenient with White's driving disqualification, saying there were special conditions to be considered.

She said White had been heading to Queenstown for a job opportunity on the day she was arrested, she was studying at SIT to try and get qualified, and was "dead keen to work."

It was her first offence, and she needed her licence to travel from Gore, where she lived, to SIT in Invercargill where she studied.

She was also extremely remorseful, Williams said.

Walker asked the police prosecutor if there was any objection to White not receiving a driving disqualification, but he said that he would rather she retain her licence and continue studying.

Judge Walker told White police had granted her a "considerable indulgence" and it was not an opportunity she would get again, so she should make the most of it.