A man has told a murder trial how he frantically tried to stop a hit-and-run in which his brother was dragged along a road for 100m, suffering catastrophic injuries.

Joseph Lee watched in horror as the Kia Venga, being driven by a drug dealer known as Black Jack, drove along a residential road in Swanley with Thomas Rossiter beneath its wheels.

Mr Lee became distressed as he told the jury how he chased after the Kia, shouting so loudly people came out of their houses and gardens.

The 32-year-old heard a bang, followed by a scraping noise, before he ran after the hire car in Lynden Way.

He then found Mr Rossiter’s lifeless body in the road.

Mr Lee, giving evidence via a TV link from a room within the court building, told of his desperate attempts to “wake” his unresponsive brother.

"I told him to get up. I was pulling him and telling him to wake up" - Mr Lee

“I told him to get up. I was pulling him and telling him to wake up. But I looked down and saw this massive hole in his side. That’s when I was running down (the road) to my mum’s saying ‘call an ambulance, call an ambulance’. I just ran away, I was in shock.”

Father-of-two Mr Rossiter, who lived in the area, suffered multiple chest injuries and died at the scene, despite efforts of paramedics and an off-duty nurse.

Erasmus Ahwoi, 30, from Croydon, denies murder.

The court heard he fled the scene and police later found internet searches relating to "Kent hit-and-run" and other similar phrases made on a mobile phone within hours of the incident on July 4 last year.

But when arrested six days later, Ahwoi told police he had been subjected to a "vicious attack" at the hands of Mr Rossiter and Mr Lee and that his car struck Mr Rossiter accidentally.

Mr Rossiter, 42, was known to use cocaine and heroin and had arranged to meet Ahwoi in Hart Dyke Road, Swanley.

The court heard Mr Lee was sitting in the back of the car when a row broke out between Mr Rossiter and Ahwoi.

Mr Lee, who suffers from panic attacks, said he was scared and tried to get out but the rear doors were locked. He only managed to flee when his brother got out of the vehicle and left the passenger door open.

"I went running towards my brother and I told Ahwoi to stop the car. 'Stop, stop, stop, my brother is underneath it'. But he just kept going" - Mr Lee

Mr Lee said he clambered over the front passenger seat and headed towards his mum’s home in nearby Lime Road.

“I started walking and I heard some sort of a bang and some sort of scraping noise. I looked around and saw this car going up Lynden Way and that’s when I saw my brother underneath the car.

“The car was jerking along and when it was on a straight bit of the road, that’s when I saw my brother’s head sticking out the car at the back right wheel.

“I went running towards my brother and I told him [Ahwoi] to stop the car. ‘Stop, stop, stop, my brother is underneath it’. But he just kept going.

“I was clearly hollering at him but he wouldn’t stop. I was screaming so much other people were coming out of their houses.”

Mr Lee said the Kia continued along Lynden Way at a speed between five and 15mph before turning into Rowan Road and freeing his brother's body.

The jury heard during cross-examination by Ahwoi’s barrister, Jeffrey Yearwood, that Mr Lee has 12 criminal convictions for 21 offences.

These included robbery of a man at knifepoint in Hart Dyke Road for which Mr Lee was jailed for four years in 2013.

But he maintained he and his brother had not planned or tried to rob Ahwoi while in his car.

The court heard that he initially told police investigating the alleged murder he had not been with Mr Rossiter, and then did not make a formal statement until November.

But he repeatedly denied he and Mr Rossiter had attacked Ahwoi by putting him in a neck-hold and punching him, knocking his glasses in the onslaught.

He also maintained he was not in the car still struggling with Ahwoi when, as suggested by Mr Yearwood, the vehicle “crept forward” and hit Mr Rossiter.

Witnesses at the scene told police they saw a man holding a piece of wood chasing after the car and then throwing it into a nearby garden.

But Mr Lee could not recall arming himself, and denied Mr Yearwood’s suggestion that his chasing of the Kia had caused Ahwoi to drive off.

The trial continues.