A Suffolk nurse caught drink-driving twice in three years has been suspended after a tribunal panel found she had been dishonest.

Shareen Alibaba, from Felixstowe, who started working at Ipswich Hospital in 2013, was convicted of drink-driving at Suffolk Magistrates' Court in June 2015.

A year later, Alibaba applied to re-register with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) - but failed to disclose the conviction, an NMC panel heard earlier this month.

Under the organisation's code of conduct, nurses are required to tell the NMC if they are subject to a criminal charge, caution or conviction. They are required to renew their registration every three years.

"The panel took into account the revalidation form in which Mrs Alibaba had clearly indicated that she had not received a police charge, caution, or conviction," a report of the hearing states.

"It was of the view that she would have been aware of her caution and conviction and therefore should have declared them on this form.

"It was of the view that she was aware of her caution and conviction and deliberately did not declare them to either the university or the NMC in order to mislead and to obtain entry onto the register."

The actions of Alibaba, who was convicted of drink-driving for a second time last year when her car was spotted veering along the A14 at Trimley, would be "considered dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people", the panel found.

They determined her entry onto the register was "fraudulently procured".

Susan Jean, for the NMC, said Alibaba's conviction involved driving with excess alcohol, which could have put the public at risk of harm. It was also noted that her actions breached the integrity of the NMC register twice, once when she first registered, and again when she revalidated.

The panel decided to remove Alibaba's entry from the nursing register.

She was also given an interim suspension order of 18 months.

An Ipswich Hospital spokeswoman said Alibaba has not been employed by the trust since August 8, 2018, adding that she was dismissed. She started working there on December 13, 2013.

Alibaba, 31, of Chester Road, Felixstowe, received a 40-month driving ban and was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work after admitting drink-driving at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on April 30, 2018.

She had been disqualified for the same offence in June 2015.