A VAN driver, who did not realise he had run someone over until it was pointed out to him by a paramedic, has admitted causing death by dangerous driving.

David Evans had been on trial for causing the death of Adam Rowlson after they had both been drinking at the Carlton Hotel, in Valley Road, Carlton, on April 4, 2008.

He originally denied causing Mr Rowlson's death but pleaded guilty yesterday.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that sometime between 5.15am and 5.30am Mr Rowlson, a father of two, was knocked down by a van being driven slowly by Evans.

It followed an earlier confrontation between the two men where both had been brandishing pool cues.

The court heard Mr Rowlson and Evans ended up in the car park with two other men. Rowlson swung a pool cue at Evans, but it did not hit him.

"There was a lot of shouting, but I could not hear anything said," Mr Rowlson's friend Scott Redgate told the court. "It was a mess."

The men then separated, with Evans going to get his van which was parked in a nearby street. He hit Mr Rowlson as he drove back in the direction of the pub.

Mr Redgate said he saw his friend's body half underneath the van, which had stopped near the entrance.

The paramedic who alerted Evans' to the fact he had run someone over had originally been called to the hotel to deal with a separate fight, involving a man known as 'Dosh' - who had left by the time they arrived.

"Both ambulance men attended to Mr Rowlson under the van," said Nigel Godsmark, QC, prosecuting.

"They realised very quickly he was dead and there was little they could do."

Evans, 30, of Stoke Lane, Gedling, told an officer at the scene: "He came from nowhere and I tried to straighten up".

Mr Rowlson had a pelvic fracture, rib fractures and a fractured skull.

Evans was originally also charged with murder but during the trial accident experts had legal discussions about how the van had mounted the pavement. As a result, the murder charge was dropped as it could not be proved that Evans intended to hit Rowlson.

Shaun Smith, mitigating, said the defendant could not remember anything from leaving the pub until the paramedic stopped him and indicated there was a body under his van.

He told the court that reports said the victim was positioned close to the near side kerb, but could not determine if he was on the footpath or the road and whether he was standing, stooped or lying on the ground when he was hit.

Evans will be sentenced on April 26 and has been remanded in custody.

After the case, Mr Rowlson's mum, Johanne Smith, said: "This has been a very long two years for the family since Adam's death. It's been an emotional roller coaster but it's now thankfully coming to an end."