A father-of-two suffered catastrophic injuries after he was mown down and dragged along a road for almost 100m in a hit-and-run, a court heard.

Thomas Rossiter, 42, was struck by the hire car being driven by long-standing drug dealer Erasmus Ahwoi, known as Black Jack, in July last year.

Several residents and motorists in the area of Hart Dyke Road in Swanley reported hearing a revving car engine and then screaming for the vehicle to stop.

One witness also told police he saw Mr Rossiter, who was also known as Tommy Lee, laying in the road before the car drove over his legs and his head.

The Kia Venga then made a heavy revving sound, followed by what was described as "a scratching noise, as if someone was dragging a heavy bag along the floor."

"The car hit Mr Rossiter, who fell to the ground in front of it. It stopped for five to 10 seconds and Ms Collard started to call 999" - Prosecutor James Lofthouse

Ahwoi, 30, drove into Lynden Way, over speed bumps and up to 40mph, before Mr Rossiter was said to have been "spat out" from beneath the vehicle.

Maidstone Crown Court heard part of Mr Rossiter's body would have been protruding, and a police traffic collision investigator later concluded that the effect on the car of him being underneath would have been "readily apparent" to the driver.

The jury of six men and six women was also told that Mr Rossiter's brother, Joseph Lee, repeatedly shouted at Ahwoi that Mr Rossiter was under the car during the daylight hit-and-run.

Despite the efforts of a nurse who lived close by, as well as paramedics and an air ambulance doctor, Mr Rossiter died at the scene.

Prosecutor James Lofthouse said he suffered "a plethora" of both external and internal injuries, including multiple ones to his chest which led to his chest wall collapsing and, ultimately, to his death.

Ahwoi, of Stroud Green Gardens, Croydon, denies murder.

The court heard that before he was arrested, Internet searches relating to "Orpington murder", "Orpington hit-and-run" and "Kent hit-and-run" were made on a phone belonging to Ahwoi's ex-girlfriend.

Within an hour of Mr Rossiter being killed, the pair had met up and Mr Lofthouse said whoever carried out the searches "knew the gravity" of what Ahwoi had done.

However, Ahwoi told police he had been viciously attacked by Mr Rossiter and Mr Lee in a drugs row, and that Mr Rossiter was knocked down by accident.

In a prepared statement he said he feared for his safety and felt disorientated after being held in a stranglehold and threatened by Mr Lee as Mr Rossiter searched his pockets and hit him.

But Ahwoi added he never meant to strike Mr Rossiter with his car or drag him along the road.

"I didn't realise Tommy was under the wheel," he stated. "I would never have knowingly done this. I hit him accidentally."

"I didn't realise Tommy was under the wheel. I would never have knowingly done this. I hit him accidentally" - Ahwoi

Mr Rossiter, who was said to use cocaine and heroin, met Ahwoi in Hart Dyke Road at about 3.15pm on Saturday, July 4.

He got in the front passenger seat while his brother sat in the back.

A passing motorist, Karen Collard, saw two men struggling over a bag in the front of the Venga before all three men got out.

Mr Rossiter then stood in front of the car.

"The defendant got in and drove forward, steering towards Mr Rossiter who hadn't moved," said the prosecutor.

"The car hit Mr Rossiter, who fell to the ground in front of it. It stopped for five to 10 seconds and Ms Collard started to call 999.

"She could hear Mr Rossiter shouting and saw the car drive off again, but much faster this time. It sped across the junction and up Lynden Way with Mr Rossiter under it.

"Ms Collard ran after it, still on the phone to the emergency services. She saw a man shouting 'Tom is under the car'. Others were shouting the same thing and the driver's window was open."

Ahwoi later told police he had sounded his horn while he was being attacked in the vehicle but the prosecutor said none of the witnesses reported hearing such a noise.

Mr Lofthouse said although the incident was distressing and fast-moving, it was clear Ahwoi had deliberately knocked Mr Rossiter to the ground and driven off with him trapped underneath.

"The nature of the internet searches underscore the defendant knew exactly what he had done - deliberately driven at and over Mr Rossiter and then driven off, knowing that Mr Rossiter was under his car and, in doing so for such a period and in that manner, that when he did that, he intended to kill Mr Rossiter or cause him really serious harm, and then left him dying in the road."

The trial continues.