A former grammar school head girl has been given one last chance to avoid jail after being caught dealing heroin.

Kerry Donoghue, 32, from Mereworth, was snared by undercover police during a sting operation.

Donoghue, who is expecting her third child, has been ordered to live with her parents and clean up her life - or she will be sent to prison.

Recorder Ian Glen, QC, said it was not a case of him merely giving into the fact that she was due to give birth in about four weeks.

He said: "But it seems to me it is a time in anybody's life when they can reassess their values."

"As soon as you have your three children, you begin to think about life more deeply.

"It seems to me this is a good juncture in your criminal career in which to try, yet again, to give you a chance."

Maidstone Crown Court heard how the former model grammar school pupil and university student descended into a spiral of drug-taking after "things went downhill".

The expectant mum ended up supplying Class A drugs in an attempt to pay off a debt to her dealer.

Donoghue, who studied at Manchester University, admitted four charges of supplying drugs and asked for two similar offences to be considered.

Maidstone Crown Court heard she was caught in a police operation targeting Class A drugs earlier this year.

Abigail White, prosecuting, said undercover officers made contact with Donoghue in March, and she supplied three wraps of heroin for £25. She later supplied more of the drug.

Robert De Banzie, defending, said as Donoghue had been in custody the court might not want to detain her for much longer.

He said she was a former head girl at a Maidstone grammar school.

He said: "She went to university. Things have gone downhill."

Her father, John Donoghue, told the judge: "My wife and I both work from home. We have got a big house. When the baby arrives, we are there."

Donoghue, of The Street, Mereworth, was released after 89 days in custody under a deferred sentence.

Under the sentence deferred for six months, Donoghue will have to live with her parents in Mereworth.

Recorder Glen said he was deferring sentence to give Donoghue a chance to prove herself and avoid an inevitable prison sentence.

He said: "I don't want to impose a curfew. My expectation is you will not be out and mixing with others in the taking or supplying of drugs.

"You are an intelligent woman. You know exactly what my hope is and it is the same as yours.

"I am hoping to find you have a healthy baby and have re-bonded with your other two children as well.

"You can take a step forward and not look back."