A MAN has admitted trying to kill a 26-year-old distant relative by running him down with a motor car and setting fire to him with petrol.

Ratan Singh pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday afternoon to the attempted murder of Chorley man Mehl Singh on February 29 last year.

Singh ran the victim down twice with a car in Water Street, Chorley, then poured petrol on him and set him alight. The victim suffered a broken jaw, broken pelvis and burns to his legs and hips.

Mr Martin Steiger, QC, defending, said medical reports on Singh, a diabetic who suffers from angina and high blood pressure, would be necessary to explain what led Singh to commit the attempted murder.

The court would also benefit from a report from a cultural leader in the Sikh community as to the dishonour Singh may have felt at the conviction and jailing of his son and the strength of feelings involved, he said.

This was a highly specific offence fuelled by the background which led to his son's conviction, said Mr Steiger.

Singh, 48, of Docking Hill Road, Doncaster, was further demanded in custody for the preparation of reports and sentence on February 5.