A man has admitted causing the death of a farmer, who was killed as he tried to stop thieves taking his Land Rover.
Michael Boffey, 61, died during the raid at his farm in Withybrook, near Rugby, Warwickshire, in August.
Ashley Squires, 22, of Styon Lane, New Parks, Leicester, had denied murder but on Tuesday at Birmingham Crown Court his plea of manslaughter was accepted.
He and his brother Frederick Squires, 24, of no fixed address, have also admitted conspiring to steal.
They were remanded in custody and are due to be sentenced on Monday.
"If I hadn't moved when he got within five feet of me, I would be dead"
Stephen Linehan QC, for the prosecution, said Mr Boffey was struck by the Land Rover moments after Squires had tried to run over a woman farm worker.
He died from massive head injuries.
The court heard Squires and his brother had targeted at least seven other farms before and after Mr Boffey's death.
When they arrived at Mr Boffey's farm, he was inside an office talking to colleague and friend Christine Russell.
The Squires brothers then left, but Ashley Squires later entered the farm on foot through a gap in the hedge and drove off in the vehicle.
The court heard he drove straight at Mrs Russell who was forced to jump clear.
In a statement read to the court, she recalled: "He was staring back at me. He was revving the engine loudly and had begun moving towards me... the look on his face told me that he was not going to stop for anyone.
"As he looked at me as he was driving, his face showed not a flicker of emotion and his eyes were large and staring.
"If I hadn't moved when he got within five feet of me, I would be dead," she said.
Mr Boffey had run towards the entrance to the farmyard and was knocked into the adjoining lane, although Mrs Russell did not witness the collision.
Killing was 'accident'
Mr Linehan said: "The defendant had driven the Land Rover into and over Mr Boffey - he had caused massive skull fractures and brain injuries from which it was not possible that Mr Boffey could have survived.
"Despite the fact that the defendant must have known that he had run over Mr Boffey, he sped off."
The two brothers then drove to Wolvey, where they abandoned the Land Rover.
The Crown accepted the younger brother's plea of not guilty to murder because no-one other than the defendant witnessed the moment of impact.
To convince a jury that Ashley Squires was guilty of murder, the Crown would have been required to prove he saw Mr Boffey standing in his path and deliberately continued to drive at him, Mr Linehan said.
Martyn Levett, defending Ashley Squires, suggested the killing could be described as an accident.
He added: "It's clear that he did not intend to run Mr Boffey down."
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