A FORMER Hollyoaks star who gave up her acting career to become a midwife has finally landed an NHS job.

But Lesley Crawford’s new role is far from perfect – being 50 miles away from her Liverpool home and only part-time.

The 25-year-old, who played Laura Burns in the Channel 4 soap which is filmed at studios in Childwall, followed her lifelong dream to train as a midwife, leaving behind a reported £100,000 salary.

But, after qualifying with a first-class degree at Liverpool John Moores University – at a cost of £45,000 – she was unable to find work in Merseyside after months of job hunting.

But Lesley, who lives in the city with husband Joe, 31, has now been offered a job at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

She said: “I am ecstatic to have been taken on, so I can finally use the skills I have trained for.

“I will probably do two days from 7am to 10pm.

“It’s an hour commute each way – so they are going to be long days. And as it is only part-time, I will have to see how I go financially.

“I may have to carry on with my other job as a care worker to earn extra money.”

Out of Lesley’s 25-strong university class, she says only three found work in Liverpool – and only one full-time.

The Royal College of Midwives has said an extra 5,000 midwives are needed by 2012 if women are to receive the care they need.