Police have launched a murder inquiry after the death of a teenager who was driven down by a van on the pavement.

David Elwood, 18, died in hospital late last night.

He had been fighting for his life over the weekend after being carried on the van's bonnet for 50 yards before falling and sustaining severe head injuries.

He was rushed to Hurstwood Park Neurological Hospital in Haywards Heath after the incident on Friday night.

Mr Elwood, a ceramic tiler from Lingfield, had gone for a night out with friends in East Grinstead.

He was walking to the railway station to catch a train home at about 10.30pm when he came across a fight between two teenagers and an older man and helped to break it up.

But minutes later the older man got behind the wheel of a white van, which mounted the pavement and knocked down Mr Elwood and one of the boys involved in the fight.

The boy - a 17-year-old labourer from Crowhurst, Surrey, got up straight away to chase the vehicle. He suffered cuts and bruises.

Mr Elwood was thrown from the vehicle outside the Mid Sussex Timber Yard in Railway Approach, close to the junction with Beeching Way.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Torbet described the incident as a "shocking end to these young people's night out".

A police spokesman said a 34-year-old local man was in police custody today helping them with inquiries.

The spokesman said a white van was being examined.

Police urged witnesses can contact them on 0845 6070999 or anonymously on Crimestoppers 0800 555111.