A taxi passenger died after he fell head first from the open door of the speeding vehicle, a jury was told.

Iain Cain, 31, had been struggling with the driver Nazam Khan in the car which was swerving from side-to-side with the front passenger door wide open, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Nicholas Askins told the jury yesterday that a witness had seen Khan lean over to the passenger side as the car accelerated along Halifax Road, Cullingworth, on October 14 last year.

Mr Cain, who lived with his fiancee Judy Tuke, at Lodge Street, Cullingworth, then fell head first from the open door hitting his head on the pavement.

The court heard that Khan, 55, of Ellercroft Terrace, Lidget Green, Bradford, then turned round and sped off back to Bradford. He passed a parked police car but failed to tell them what had happened.

He has pleaded not guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Askins said that Mr Cain had tried to get out of the taxi but Khan had prevented him from doing so by pulling him back in before driving away at speed with the door wide open.

This dangerous driving, he said, was a cause of Mr Cain's death.

"If the witnesses at the scene are right the defendant drove his taxi at speed in Halifax Road a distance of 50 metres with the passenger door open.

"There was an opportunity to brake and bring the taxi to a halt that the defendant did not take and the prosecution say this amounted to dangerous driving because of the obvious risk that Iain Cain might fall or try to get out of the taxi."

The jury was told that Mr Cain had been out with friends in the city centre before catching a cab in Morley Street. He was on his way to meet his fiancee at The George Pub in Cullingworth and had been told by her that the fare would be about £12.

The taxi was next seen to stop in Halifax Road, Cullingworth, and Mr Cain partially emerged from the vehicle before quickly returning as if he had been pulled back in.

Khan then made a U-turn, screeching his tyres and revving the engine, with the front door still open, the court heard.

It was seen speeding at between 45-60mph in a 30mph zone for about 50 metres before Mr Cain came out, the prosecution claim.

An ambulance took Mr Cain to Airedale General Hospital and then Leeds General Infirmary where he died the next day from severe head injuries.

Mr Askins told the jury tests revealed that Mr Cain was not drunk and had more than £40, more than enough for the fare.

Two days after the incident Khan took his car to be valeted inside and out, and Mr Askins said that it was the prosecution's case that he was trying to remove evidence of Mr Cain having been in the car.

Khan was later arrested after his Toyota Avensis was one of seven taxis identified on CCTV in the city centre. In his first three interviews with police he made no comment, but in later interviews gave police a prepared statement in which he admitted picking up Mr Cain.

He added that there had been a dispute over the fare and that Mr Cain had grabbed hold of the steering wheel and pulled the handbrake before jumping out.

But Mr Askins said if there was a dispute over the fare it was likely to be as a result of the defendant attempting to over-charge.

Khan claimed that Mr Cain was boisterous and in drink and denied that he had been breaking the speed limit.

The trial continues.