Police were called to St Benedict's Avenue in Gravesend, Kent, to reports that the victim had been assaulted, then run over, at 10.10pm on Wednesday.

The unnamed victim, who worked for Millennium Data Cabs in Gravesend, had his taxi stolen before it was later found abandoned and burnt out in nearby Truro Road.

A Kent Police spokesman said a murder investigation was under way as forensic teams sealed off part of the road to conduct fingertip searches.

A spokesman for Millennium Data Cabs confirmed the victim, believed to be an elderly man, worked for them, but declined to give further details.

Alan Meen, who lives in St Benedict's Avenue, told BBC Kent the victim had "burn marks" on his arms from the car's exhaust.

He said he was called to the scene by a neighbour and added: "I put some blankets over him, put a blanket underneath his head, and waited for the ambulance."

Gravesham MP Adam Holloway (Conservative) urged the killer to surrender himself to police immediately.

He said: "What really worries me about this is that somewhere in the community there is a nutter who ran someone over last night.

"That person should be in custody as soon as possible. If you are the idiot who did this, you better go to the police right now."