Junior doctor Lauren Fowler, 25, who was arrested twice for drink-driving, has avoided a jail sentence. She is pictured leaving Stockport Magistrates' Court, where she appeared on Monday

A Cambridge-educated junior doctor who was arrested twice for drink-driving has avoided jail after claiming she had developed an addiction due to the 'stress' of studying.

Dr Lauren Fowler, 25, graduated from Imperial College London - one of the world's most prestigious universities - last year with a degree in medicine.

But the medic - who attended Clare College at Cambridge before enrolling at Imperial in 2014 - drank heavily during her studies at the research university and said did not know who to turn to for help.

Appearing at Stockport Magistrates' Court, the 25-year-old broke down in tears as she was told that her offending had 'crossed the custody threshold'.

The court heard she drank white wine after lunch with friends last October, before purchasing another bottle from an off licence.

She knocked back the alcohol before crashing her Ford Ka in an area busy with pedestrians.

Fowler was so drunk that she was barely able to speak when police arrived at the scene, where officers found an empty wine bottle in the footwell of her car.

She was bailed but was stopped again less than two months later after she had drunk half a bottle of vodka before getting behind the wheel.

Fowler drove around a hotel car park near her family's luxury home near Wilmslow, Cheshire. Tests showed she was more than three times over the drink-drive limit.

Mitigating, Helen Turner said that her client had been diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was only 15 years old that was 'more-or-less cured'.

Ms Turner added: 'She flourished in her exams whilst this was going on and has flourished in her first year as a Junior doctor.

The court heard Fowler drank wine with friends last October before purchasing another bottle and getting behind the wheel of her Ford Ka. The young medic is pictured left in January last year and right graduating in October last year

'It is insurmountable the amount of work she does. She works 48 hours during the week, and she works overtime, and also volunteers at the weekend.

'You can't deny the dedication she has for her career. She has already made steps to making sure this never happens again.

'She has given up alcohol completely. She has removed all temptation to ever get behind the wheel by selling her car.

'She has been seeing an addiction counsellor every week. She has shown an incredible amount of remorse for her actions. Her character references indicate that this isn't the kind of thing you would expect from her.

'She reported herself to the GMC. She has been completely transparent with her employer and the GMC and she knows this will massively impact her career.

Less than two months after her first arrest, Fowler drank half a bottle of vodka and drive around a hotel car park near her family's luxury home near Wilmslow, Cheshire. She is pictured in June last year

'She has made a hill for herself to climb and I can only ask that you don't make this a mountain, as she has already punished herself enough.'

Fowler had pursued her career in medicine after she excelled at Stockport Grammar school where she was senior prefect and attained two A* grades and an A at A Level.

She was also shortlisted for a UK Scientist of the Year award for a research project she carried out at Manchester University in 2011.

Fowler attended Imperial College which was founded by Prince Albert in 1845, ranks eighth in the Times Higher Education World University list, and where the Latin motto 'Scientia imperii decus et tutame' means 'Knowledge is the adornment and protection of the Empire'.

The court heard within days of her graduation ceremony, Fowler went out for lunch in Manchester during which she shared a bottle of wine with friends - and then drank more wine whilst at the wheel of her car.

Prosecutor Joseph O'Connor said: 'Police attended a minor road traffic collision and met the defendant who was clearly intoxicated.

'She was swearing and slurring her words and they could smell intoxicants on her breath.

'When they tried to speak to her they had trouble understanding what she was saying, she was incoherent and the officers assumed she was drunk.

'As she was arrested she admitted that she had drunk two bottles of wine and was taken to the police station.

'She was described as acting very emotionally and she failed to provide a specimen of breath because she was so upset.'

The court heard that Fowler was diagnosed with a brain tumour when she was 15 but that it was 'more-or-less cured' before she 'flourished' in academia. She is pictured left and right in 2015

She was bailed to face court but was held again on December 9 after being caught drinking driving at the Stanneylands boutique hotel in Wilmslow.

Mr O'Connor added: 'She collided with another car whilst trying to leave the car park of the Stanneylands Hotel.

'When the police arrived they tried to speak to her, but they noticed a smell of intoxicants on her breath and she was slurring her words.

'She was taken to the police station and gave two samples of breath. In interview she made admissions and told then she had drunk half a bottle of vodka before deciding to go to the gym.

'She accepts she shouldn't have driven. The second offence was committed whilst she was on bail, which is an aggravating factor. She was inebriated during the accident.'

Tests showed Fowler had 112 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Defending, Helen Turner said her client now faces a disciplinary investigation by the General Medical Council.

She added: 'This is somebody who was arrested for the first time in their life, she has never been to a police station before, she didn't know what to expect.

JP Martin Drake told Fowler that her offending crossed the custody threshold handed down a suspended sentence. She is pictured leaving Stockport Magistrates' Court on Monday

'She tried to provide two samples of breath but found the experience incredibly upsetting and struggled to provide the samples.

'She was catching her breath because of how upset she was. She did successfully provide a sample of breath, but it was not enough.

'Regarding the drink drive offence, this was committed whilst she was on bail. She has an addictive behaviour, she admits this. She has a very stressful lifestyle.

'This would be her very first blemish, she knows she made a mistake. The area was only a few hundred metres from her house. It only a minor collision and nobody was injured.'

Fowler admitted drinking driving and failing to provide a breath specimen.

A probationary statement read out in court said: 'On the October 21 the defendant had gone to meet friends for some lunch.

'She shared a bottle of wine with them before getting in her car and driving to the shop to purchase a bottle of wine.

'She drank this wine in the car and drove. It was her intention to drive. It was a Saturday early evening, there were pedestrians and it was busy.

'Police officers found an empty bottle of wine in the footwell of her car.

'On December 9 she admits she didn't know where she was going at the time. Another empty bottle of wine was found. She doesn't know why she was drinking.

'She drank at university to cope with the stress and she didn't know who to go to for help with her addiction. She admits this is a massive wake up call for her.'

Fowler was sentenced to eight weeks' jail suspended for a year, ordered to complete 40 hours of unpaid work and was banned from driving for three years.

Her father John, 65, who runs a management training company watched from the public gallery and said 'Oh my god' as sentence was passed.

JP Martin Drake told her: 'We have considered all the facts of this case and there are aggravating features, the first offence was committed during the day when there were pedestrians around and the second offence was committed on bail and it was a very high reading.

'This does cross the custody threshold but the sentence will be suspended and this mean you will not be going to prison today.

'However, if you commit any offence during the next 12 months, another judge has the right to activate that sentence and can send you to custody.'

Fowler was also ordered to pay £200 court costs.