A taxi driver was murdered after a drunk passenger attacked him and ran him over with his own car, a court heard.

It was alleged at Maidstone Crown Court that Gian Chand Bajar was lying injured in the road from the assault when defendant Luke Aujila deliberately drove over him as he fled from the scene.

He then set fire to the cab close to his Gravesend home in an attempt to destroy evidence and denied any involvement in the killing.

But Aujila, 21, later pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 71-year-old father, who was highly respected in the Sikh community, and perverting the course of justice.

Aujila, of no fixed address, denies murder, his lawyer telling the jury it was "an appalling and tragic accident".

His mother Annette, 42, of Dorchester Road, and brother Thomas, 25, of Gordon Road, Northfleet, have admitted perverting the course of justice by helping to dispose of clothes.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Aujila probably argued with Mr Bajar, who worked for Millennium Taxis, because he did not have the money to pay for his fare on the evening of May 23, 2007.

After attending a work course in Dartford, he had spent the afternoon and evening drinking cider and Bacardi rum. He was in the area of flats at Carl Ekman House in Shepherd Street when witnesses saw him get into the front passenger seat of the taxi.

Alan Kent, prosecuting, said Aujila directed Mr Bajar to a cul-de-sac in St Benedict's Avenue, close to Dorchester Road, where he was then living. An argument started and both men got out of the cab, and Aujila knocked the victim to the ground and kicked him, probably to the head.

Mr Kent said: "According to one witness, Mr Bajar tried to get up but was unable to do so. According to another witness, he was unable to move at all.

"Following the assault, the defendant got into Mr Bajar's taxi, this time on the driver's side. He attempted to make a three-point turn but was unable to do so.

"He drove to the end of the cul-de-sac, turned the car around and then he drove straight at and over the prone body, causing extensive and, as it turns out, fatal injuries.

"Mr Bajar died later that night in hospital. The defendant sped away from the scene in the taxi. He drove to a service road behind his home, then set fire to the car."

The trial continues.