A banned driver is on trial accused of trying to murder a soldier by deliberately running over his head after a bust up in Maidstone.

The incident took place at just past midnight on November 12, 2022, outside a Wetherspoons pub, a jury heard.

A group of soldiers, based at the Invicta Park barracks in Maidstone, had been attending an 80s fancy dress party in their camp for the Help The Heroes charity.

Soldier Ben Walsh, dressed as Freddie Mercury and his friend George Wilkie, who was dressed as cartoon character Mario, had then gone with colleagues to the Society Rooms near Maidstone East Station.

It is then a fight broke out and Anthony Deeprose, 29, of Church Close, Maidstone and formerly Beechcolme Close, Ashford, has since been charged with two counts of attempted murder. He denies both charges.

Prosecutor Patrick Dennis told Maidstone Crown Court: "The defendant assaulted one of the soldiers, Alex White, punching him in the head. The defendant had been drinking and was disqualified from driving.

"That didn’t prevent him from getting into his car and deliberately driving at the group, knocking over Mr Walsh and clipping his colleague.”

He then drove off, leaving Mr Walsh injured in the road before turning around as Mr Wilkie attempted to pull his friend to safety.

Mr Dennis continued: "The defendant then deliberately drove over Mr Walsh's head as he lay in the road, causing Mr Wilkie to fly over the bonnet.

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"The prosecution’s case is that by coming back and deliberately driving at the group again, particularly over Mr Walsh’s head as he lay injured in the road, he was intending to kill him.

"The defendant had reversed the vehicle out of the parking space and then drove it quite deliberately at the group in the road without any lights on.

"There can be no doubt this was a deliberate action by the defendant. He then drove away.

"He could have carried on driving away. There were numerous exit routes open to him that would have taken him far away from the scene but that would not have satisfied this defendant’s savage and violent urges that evening."

Deeprose has admitted assaulting Mr White, driving while disqualified and causing serious injury to Mr Walsh by driving dangerously.

The prosecutor said: "The prosecution’s case is that the defendant became increasingly angry, which had first manifested itself into violence when he punched Mr White.

"It progressed to him deliberately driving at the group on the first occasion. At the very least, on that occasion, he was using his car as a weapon.

"However, even that wasn’t sufficient for this defendant. He quite unnecessarily turned around after doing this, came back and then intentionally drove over Ben Walsh’s head as he lay injured from being knocked over the first time as well as sending George Wilkie cartwheeling over the vehicle.

“The prosecution case is that by doing this he can only have intended to kill, " alleged the prosecutor.

The trial continues.