A solicitor who caused two crashes after a boozy lunch has avoided being suspended from the profession.

Elizabeth Thomson, who was a partner for a Ramsgate law firm at the time, posed a “serious risk to public safety” as her Jaguar swerved across the road, a tribunal heard.

She had been almost three times the alcohol limit and sparks were seen flying as she drove with a shredded tyre along routes in the Canterbury district.

Ms Thomson was ordered to pay £20,000 in fines and costs - but she was spared a more serious sanction as her actions were deemed a “one-off grave error of judgment”.

The shocking details are revealed in a recently published report of a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing, which took place in September.

It says: “The respondent (Ms Thomson) posed a serious risk to public safety.

“There was a risk that she could have potentially killed or seriously injured a third party or parties by her actions.”

The lawyer, who was struggling with the “immense pressures of work”, had been drinking wine during an afternoon lunch on November 5, 2022.

In evidence for the tribunal, a police report said that at about 5.15pm she drove her Jaguar XS along St Martin’s Hill in Canterbury towards Sandwich. It was swerving from side to side and mounting the kerb.

Five minutes later, further along the A257 Canterbury Road, the car went on the opposite lane.

An oncoming motorist drove into a hedge to avoid a head-on crash, yet the two cars still collided, causing damage to both.

The Hyundai had five people inside, including two teenagers.

She was a highly experienced solicitor, who should have known better…

Yet Ms Thomson failed to stop and drove on, continuing along the A257 through Littlebourne and Wingham.

Along Wingham Dip, outside Wingham Wildlife Park, she again swerved from left to right, went onto the wrong side of the road and drove towards oncoming traffic.

A short distance later, Ms Thomson crashed with a Kia - which had a family of four inside - travelling in the opposite direction. Again she failed to stop.

At 5.35pm she was spotted by off-duty PC Taylor.

The tribunal report says: “He was so alarmed by the respondent’s driving he felt the need to follow and get behind her vehicle to protect other road users.”

He had noticed that the Jaguar’s front offside wheel was facing the wrong way and its tyre was shredded. The metal alloy wheel was scraping the road and giving off sparks.

Ms Thomson continued to drive erratically, slowing to 5mph and suddenly speeding up to 30mph.

The Jaguar reached the Ash Bypass section of the A257, where it was stopped by PC Taylor and another officer, PC Hathaway, close to the junctions of Chequer Lane and Cop Street.

PC Hathaway had responded to several 999 calls about Ms Thomson’s driving.

She was arrested and breathalysed at a police station where she was found to have 100 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

“She has shown deep remorse, apologised for her actions and has promptly accepted the full responsibility…”

Nobody was seriously injured that day.

Ms Thomson appeared at Margate Magistrates Court on April 17, 2023, and pleading guilty to drink-driving, driving without due care and attention and two counts of failing to stop after an accident.

She was given a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, and banned from the road for 26 months. Ms Thomson was also ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work and pay a victim surcharge of £145.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority got involved the next day when Ms Thomson reported the conviction to her profession.

The tribunal’s judgement document says: “The respondent’s actions were the result of a spontaneous and bad error of judgment, but she had been directly in control of her drinking and the actions that resulted from it.

“She was a highly experienced solicitor, who should have known better.

“However, she has shown deep remorse, apologised for her actions and has promptly accepted the full responsibility.”

The tribunal found the allegations of drink-driving, driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident, on two counts, proven against her.

Ms Thomson was fined £17,500 and told to pay £2,500 costs.

Suspension was ruled out as her misconduct was seen as a “one-off grave error of judgment”.

Ms Thomson has been a solicitor since 2003 and in November 2022 was a partner in the residential conveyancing department in the firm Boys and Maughan of Ramsgate.

She began with the firm in October 2013 and was assigned to open a Canterbury office in Broad Street. This happened in spring 2014 and she was based there with two support staff.

The lawyer has since left the firm and is currently working as a freelance solicitor.

The report says: “The respondent described her struggles with coping with the level of work and immense pressures at work.

“(This was) as well as her personal circumstances, leading up to and relating to the alleged misconduct, including a long battle with health-related issues.”