An unusually Stafford tale of feathers, fender-benders, and finding the right help
Mark’s a delivery driver.
Not for Amazon. Not for DPD. For chickens.
Actual chickens.
He runs a small business just outside Stafford, delivers eggs, feed, and the occasional live hen to local farms and hobby keepers. Bit niche, but very Staffordshire.
One Monday morning, Mark’s driving through the Baswich roundabout. Rain spitting, wipers doing that annoying halfway squeak. He’s mid-podcast, halfway through a cup of service-station coffee.
That’s when it happened.
🐔 The Fateful Flap
A chicken.
In the middle of the roundabout.
Not a wild one. Not a hallucination. A fully feathered, bewildered chicken standing dead centre like it owned the junction.
Mark hit the brakes.
The chicken flapped.
The Ford Fiesta behind him… didn’t stop in time.
Crunch.
Rear-end impact. Not huge, but enough to jolt Mark’s head forward and scatter feed bags across the passenger seat.
The chicken? Strolled off. Not a care in the world.
📞 The Aftermath
Mark got out. Fiesta driver got out. Everyone was polite. No one was injured. But Mark’s van?
Rear bumper cracked. Tailgate creased. One rear light knocked slightly out of place and the parking sensors now going off like a nightclub strobe.
The Fiesta had worse damage. Front grille smashed in, number plate cracked, steam from somewhere it shouldn’t be.
They swapped details. Mark tried to joke, “You’re not going to believe what caused it.”
The driver didn’t laugh.
🛠️ The Van’s Not Just a Van
For Mark, that van was more than transport. It had:
Animal transport crates
Refrigerated boxes for eggs
A handwritten delivery schedule taped to the dash
Stickers from every farm he’d visited
More importantly, it was how he earned a living. A busted back end meant no deliveries. No income.
He called his insurer, who immediately recommended sending it 30 miles away to a “network repairer.” No timeline. No courtesy van. No context.
Mark wasn’t convinced.
He Googled:
“Accident van repair Stafford”
“Car crash rear end help ST16”
“Stafford bodyshop with courtesy vans”
That’s when he found us.
🧡 Bodymatters to the Rescue (Feathers Optional)
Mark pulled up the next morning.
Still shaken, but mostly annoyed. “The only thing worse than hitting a wall is nearly writing off your van over a chicken,” he told us.
We didn’t laugh. (Okay, maybe a small laugh.)
Then we got to work.
🔎 The Real Damage
From the outside, it looked like just a dent. But our inspection showed:
Cracked tailgate frame
Rear camera misalignment
Parking sensor damage
Wiring loom exposed
Inner boot weld slightly stressed
And because the van was used for livestock and egg transport, we had to make sure it was sealed properly, hygienic, and structurally sound.
We gave Mark:
✔ A courtesy van, not a car
✔ Full insurance support, including documentation and photos
✔ Manufacturer-grade parts
✔ A 4-day turnaround
✔ Regular updates (and yes, we fed his chickens once, long story)
🐓 A Lesson in Local Logic
While we fixed his van, Mark got three calls from his insurer saying, “We can still take it to our approved partner.”
He replied the same way each time:
“No thanks. Bodymatters already sorted me. Properly. Locally.”
Because here’s the thing Stafford drivers don’t always hear:
👉 You have the right to choose your repairer.
👉 Your insurer can’t force you to go anywhere.
👉 Local doesn’t mean second-best, it often means done properly.
When you come to Bodymatters, you get:
Real updates from real people
Work done to manufacturer standards
Guaranteed repairs, with paperwor
A courtesy car (or van) that’s not an afterthought
And your car back looking like it should
No mystery garages. No ghost updates. No calling a call centre to ask where your bumper is.
Just proper repairs, done here, by people who care.
🚐 Mark’s Van Returns
On Friday afternoon, Mark picked up his freshly repaired van. Clean, polished, sensors working, tailgate perfect.
We’d even printed him a small “Mind the chicken” sticker for the back.
He laughed. Took a photo. Posted it online with the caption:
“One roundabout chicken, one cracked bumper, and one absolute gem of a garage. Cheers @BodymattersStafford.”
The next week, two people from his delivery route called us to book in their own minor repairs. Seems chickens, and good service, travel fast in Stafford.
💬 What Makes This Story Matter?
It’s not just about the chicken (though that part’s gold).
It’s about how unexpected things can knock you off track, and how the right support puts you back together without making things harder.
Because:
Accidents don’t always involve high speeds
Light damage can still ruin vital systems
Network repairers often treat you like a number
And small businesses like Mark’s? They need fast, human help, not call centre chaos
🚘 Stafford – If You’ve Had a Bump (Chicken or Not), We’ve Got You
Whether it’s a cracked bumper, a glitching sensor, or a tailgate that doesn’t shut, we check more than just the surface.
At Bodymatters, you get:
✅ Proper diagnostics
✅ Insurance-approved repairs
✅ Courtesy cars or vans
✅ Friendly, jargon-free updates
✅ Work guaranteed, no shortcuts
📍 Tollgate Drive, Stafford ST16 3EA
📞 01785 229162
💻 www.bodymatters-uk.com
Because it doesn’t take much, a pothole, a post, or even a rogue chicken, to cause damage. But it does take the right people to fix it properly.
