‘It still feels surreal’: Portishead woman who grew up in care qualifies as doctor against all odds 

• Watch Louisa Britton's report here.

A woman from Portishead has completed medical school against all odds. 

Dr Rebecca Bradford, who goes by Becs, was taken into care at the age of 12 after her father suffered a freak accident and was left paralysed. 

Three years later she dropped out of school with no qualifications. 

Becs said: "It's not just what people used to say to me in care. It was all of the conditioning that I had within the family.

"After my dad's accident, I was always told by certain family members that I would amount to nothing, that I was stupid, that I would end up just on the streets. 

“It took me years to understand that those things weren't true."

Rather than listening to that negativity, Becs turned things around by taking her GCSEs when she was 34, and going to the University of Bristol to become a doctor. 

Despite this progress, it’s been a long and hard journey. 

Becs said: "Whenever I would want to quit - and that happened a lot because of lack of finances, lack of support, just feeling burnt out.

"I would always think about children out there that would potentially in the same situation as I wasn't care having no support. 

“I use that as my why I have to do this. I have to get through this because I want to support those vulnerable children, vulnerable adults. So I have to keep going. And it just drove me so much.”

Five years since joining medical school, Becs has now qualified and on Wednesday 31 July she had her first shift at the Bristol Royal Infirmary as a junior doctor. 

Becs said: "[My graduation] was so surreal. It really was like a dream come true. You know, I walked across the stage and I thought, I've done it. You know, I've done it. 

“Now I can really try and have an impact and work as a doctor. And it's still feels surreal.”