A courier was murdered when he was run over by a thief who had stolen his van, a court has heard.

Mark Lang, 54, was fatally injured as he was dragged hundreds of metres by his own vehicle earlier this year.

He had been trying to stop Christopher Elgifari, 31, from getting away.

The prosecution alleges Elgifari drove deliberately at Mr Lang.

CCTV footage from properties nearby captured the incident on 28 March in Cardiff.

The jury heard Mr Lang had parked his vehicle in Laytonia Avenue to deliver a parcel at about 12.40pm.

David Elias KC said Mr Lang was “only going to be a few seconds, so he left his van unlocked with the keys in the ignition”.

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“As he stood at the door of the house to deliver, this defendant ran to the van and jumped in,” he added.

“He drove off at speed down Laytonia Avenue chased by Mark Lang. The avenue, unfortunately, is a dead end.”

Mr Elias said the defendant “turned around at the end, colliding with a garden wall, before driving back towards Mark Lang”.

“As Mr Lang stood in the middle of the road in his high-vis jacket, waving his arms, the defendant ran him down without deviating,” he added.

“Mr Lang was struck by the middle of the bonnet. He disappeared under the van. The defendant carried on driving without a thought for his victim.

“He drove onto North Road towards the city centre at speed for over 700 metres with Mr Lang’s body trapped under the vehicle.”

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Cardiff Crown Court was told Mr Lang, from the Cyncoed area of the city, had suffered head and crash injuries and died on 15 April.

Elgifari, from Aberdare, denies murder and robbery but has admitted manslaughter and theft.

The trial continues.

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