A woman was found passed out at the wheel in the middle of the road after drinking to deal with a break up, a court heard.
Aisling Slater was three times over the limit when she was found slumped over the wheel of her Mini Cooper following a wine night with a friend.
But despite her drunken state and the danger she put other road users in, the 29-year-old was spared jail.
Magistrates heard Slater, a mental health nurse from Warrington, Cheshire, had been off work with stress at the time and had been self-medicating with alcohol to cope with a broken down relationship.
A security guard discovered Slater passed out in her car on a road in Lowton, near Wigan, in the early hours of March 17 and initially thought the driver had been involved in an accident.
But upon approaching and waking Slater, the guard discovered she was heavily intoxicated and was slurring her words.
Prosecutor Paul Sumner said: "When police later arrived, they gave the defendant a roadside breathalyser test, which confirmed, she was positive. She was arrested and taken to a police station.
"She was fully compliant in interview and was released the following day."
Wigan magistrates' court heard Slater had been drinking with a friend to confide about her heartbreak instead of "seeking professional help", and had not had a drink since her arrest.
Breathlyser results had showed Slater had 115 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35mg.
Louise Barrow, defending, said her client had begun driving home after spending time with a friend, but stopped the car when she realised she wasn't in a fit state.
"She spent 12 hours in a cell after her arrest," Ms Barrow said.
"All this time in a confined place gave her a new perspective on the people she works with as a mental health practitioner."
Slater was "now looking to get professional help again", Ms Barrow said, and had realised "drink is not the way to do it".
"She works with mental health people, giving them advice. However, she hasn’t taken her own advice.
"We all know this can be a hard thing to do. She is very upset to be here today.''
Presiding magistrate, Linda Webster told Slater: "This is a very sad situation.
"You are clearly someone who had a bright future, which has been devastated with one stupid action.
''You clearly regret it but it is going to cause ongoing issues for you for the rest of your life if you don’t address it.”
Slater was sentenced to a 12 month community order with 60 hours unpaid work.
She must also pay costs of £85 and £114 statutory surcharge and was also banned from the roads for two years.
