'˜No justice after car crash for brave Dunstable dad who battled stage 4 cancer'

A brave Dunstable man who had gone back to work after battling stage 4 cancer was 'devastated' when someone crashed into his car and drove off without leaving a note.
Claudette and BrandonClaudette and Brandon
Claudette and Brandon

On Hallowe’en Brandon Wolfenden, of Goldstone Crescent, had parked his VW Passat on the road in front of the family home so as children could get up the drive easily for ‘trick or treat’.

However, it wasn’t ghouls or monsters that were the problem, as the night took an unexpected turn when between 1.30am and 1.45am (November 1) a passing car crashed into the back of Brandon’s, reversed, and then drove off. Brandon’s wife, Claudette Wolfenden, said: “Our neighbour rang us that morning and said ‘have you seen Brandon’s car?’.

“Brandon ran outside and said ‘oh my God!’ His bumper was hanging off and the car was dented.

CCTV captured on the family's camera. The car is reversing from behind the bush, leaving Brandon's (parked in front of the bush on the left) damaged.CCTV captured on the family's camera. The car is reversing from behind the bush, leaving Brandon's (parked in front of the bush on the left) damaged.
CCTV captured on the family's camera. The car is reversing from behind the bush, leaving Brandon's (parked in front of the bush on the left) damaged.

“Luckily, we’d picked it up on the CCTV and you can see Brandon’s car being shunted forward and the other car driving off. We assume the driver was distracted or drunk.

“Brandon was devastated and the community have also taken it personally.

“He’d recently gone back to work after receiving treatment for a rare cancer called Nasopharyngeal - ‘head and neck cancer’. Doctors say Brandon is ‘cancer free’ at the moment - but he needs the car for work. We couldn’t believe his bad luck!”

Brandon had been suffering from migraines since 2011 with doctors only prescribing him antibiotics.

CCTV captured on the family's camera. The car is reversing from behind the bush, leaving Brandon's (parked in front of the bush on the left) damaged.CCTV captured on the family's camera. The car is reversing from behind the bush, leaving Brandon's (parked in front of the bush on the left) damaged.
CCTV captured on the family's camera. The car is reversing from behind the bush, leaving Brandon's (parked in front of the bush on the left) damaged.

So, in 2014 he went for a CAT scan, revealing the awful news that he had stage 4 Nasopharyngeal cancer.

Brave Brandon then went through rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, before being declared ‘cancer free’ (at the moment) in March and heading back to work two months ago.

Claudette said: “Brandon went through gruelling treatment and then this happened - a double whammy!

“He’s also been suffering from PTSD, because he had been told that he might die. Now somebody does something like this.

“The Dunstable community and Catholic Church of St Mary’s know Brandon’s story, because what happened has been a miracle.

“So, after the crash, I posted about it on Facebook and they have been so supportive.

“Brandon could have stayed at home on benefits but he fought his way back to work!

“Then this person came along, crashed, and drove off without giving a monkeys.”

Brandon works at Bakkavor Foods, London, and goes to work five or six days a week, with his family being very protective.

He and Claudette have a son, Jacob, 13, as well as Claudette’s older daughters Hannah 27, Sarah-Grace 29, Sophie 21, and another older daughter who wished to remain anonymous.

The family now have to pay £900 in repairs, with Brandon having to cover the first £700. He was given a courtesy car while the damage was assessed.

Claudette added: “Hopefully it will prick this person’s conscience or that of anyone who knows him.

“We think the car could have been a Nissan Qashqai or similar. It looked black or dark blue.

“On the passenger side it will probably have its headlight gone and damage to the corner on the passenger side.”

If anyone has any information about the incident, please contact Bedfordshire Police on 101.