Memorial match for dad who was hit by car

A football match is set to take place in memory of Tommy Hunter, who died from a head injury after being hit by a car while walking home from a night out.

The match will kick off at 10:30 BST on Sunday at the Hawfields Ground in Newhall, Derbyshire, and will feature a half-time show from Hunter's son and other members of his team at Fight Station Kickboxing.

In a post online, Fight Station said: "This is a day to come together as a community to celebrate the life, friendship and legacy of Tommy Hunter."

In March 2025, Brandon Beesla, 29, admitted driving a vehicle, a Pontiac Firebird, which was in a condition likely to cause danger of injury in Burton Road on the night Hunter, 27, went missing.

Sunday's match will be followed by an event at Springfield Sports Bar in Swadlincote.

Hunter was found in a roadside hedge more than 24 hours after he was hit by a car in the early hours of 10 December 2023 near Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire.

An inquest in July heard a case for death by dangerous driving was prepared by Leicestershire Police for the Crown Prosecution Service, but it was decided the force had "insufficient evidence to have a realistic prospect of conviction".

Beesla, who was living in Hillsdale Road in Burton-upon-Trent at the time, was fined £2,000 and banned from driving for 12 months, and said he did not stop because he believed he had hit a badger.

Hunter's partner, Chloe Mefford, has since called for a change in the law to require drivers to stop after an accident of any kind and report it immediately, believing Hunter would have been found sooner had this been in place.

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