‘Enraged’ ex-Royal Marine deployed his car as a weapon to drive into crowds at Liverpool parade, court hears
A former Royal Marine angrily charged into the crowd at Liverpool’s victory parade, attacking more than 100 fans in a two-minute attack using his 1.9-tonne Ford Galaxy as a weapon, a court heard.
Harrowing footage played at Liverpool Crown Court showed Paul Doyle, described as a 53-year-old family man, speeding towards terrified crowds, shouting “get out of the f***ing road”.
When the vehicle finally came to a stop after a total of 134 people were injured, CCTV showed supporters and police descending on Doyle and Doyle telling officers after his arrest: “I’ve ruined my family’s life.”
Doyle, of West Derby in Liverpool, appeared in tears in the dock at the start of his sentence on Monday as evidence was played at the Liverpool parade in May.
Last month, he cried as he pleaded guilty to 31 charges, including dangerous driving, affray, 17 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, 9 charges of causing GBH with intent and 3 charges of wounding with intent.
At the heated hearing attended by the victims, the court heard the following:
- Doyle lost his temper in his desire to pick up his friend from the parade
- Heroic ex-soldier Daniel Barr jumped in and helped the stopped car
- Distraught mother of youngest victim thought her son was dead
- Doyle claimed ‘drunk goons’ threatened him before the attack
The packed courtroom, just an eight-minute walk from Doyle’s attack, heard from dozens of victims through impact statements. Many claimed that they were still suffering from the physical and mental scars of that fateful day.
Opening the sentence, prosecutor Mr Paul Greaney KC played horrific CCTV footage from Doyle’s car, which Mr Greaney said showed Doyle driving “aggressively and dangerously” towards Liverpool city centre, where he intended to pick up a friend and family from a parade.
Upon reaching Dale Street, the video showed the car being driven through a crowded area; Here Doyle could be heard shouting “move” and “fuck you motherfuckers” as fans pulled their children out of the way.
Later, as he passes through the gap between traffic cones cleared for the ambulance, footage shows Doyle’s car heading towards Water Street; Mr Greaney said the vehicle hit more than 100 people in just over two minutes.
The footage shows some of the victims jumping on Doyle’s hood, forcing the windshield to crack. Others were dragged under the front of the vehicle.
The images in the courtroom were greeted with gasps and tears in the public gallery filled with victims and their families. In the dock, as the footage was shown to the court, Doyle cried, bowed his head and closed his eyes.
Mr Greaney said: “Paul Doyle lost his temper in his desire to get where he wanted to get.
“He entered the crowd in anger. While doing this, he intended to seriously harm the people in the crowd. He was ready to cause serious harm to those in the crowd, even children, if necessary, to achieve his goal of passing through the crowd.
“The truth is simply that the consequences are terrible.”
Mr Greaney said the accusations focused mainly on a two-minute period in Water Street, where Doyle accelerated towards crowds leaving the parade to celebrate Liverpool winning the Premier League.
“The prosecution’s contention is that the defendant used the vehicle as a weapon during this period,” Mr Greaney said. “By doing so he not only caused massive injuries but also caused horror to those attending what they thought would be a joyous day.”
Despite the danger, the court was told how some people reacted to stop Doyle because they “felt something terrible was unfolding”.
One person opened the driver’s door, and before Doyle could close the door, another person punched the rear window, breaking it. A camping chair was also thrown away.
Mr Greaney singled out ex-soldier Daniel Barr, who managed to get into the back seat and move the automatic gear lever to “park”.
“IT [the vehicle] It was stopped by a combination of the actions of a man named Daniel Barr, who bravely jumped into the back of the vehicle, and the large number of people trapped beneath the Galaxy,” the prosecutor said.
Other footage shown to the court showed the horrific impact on victims as an injured child was pulled from under the front of the car. In another image, five-month-old baby Teddy Eveson can be seen being pulled from his stroller after being hit by the vehicle, along with his mother, Sheree Aldridge.
In a moving victim impact statement read out, she said: “At that moment I thought I was going to die. “I didn’t know where Dan and Teddy were.
“I felt a very severe pain in my leg and when I looked up, I saw Teddy’s stroller lying on its side across the road. I thought my Teddy was dead. I thought it was my turn. I thought my children would grow up without a mother.”
Mr Greaney said Doyle told police in an interview that he had panicked after a group of men he described as “drunken goons” approached him, one of them holding a knife.
Mr Greaney said no footage or witness statements of anyone with a knife were found during the police investigation. “That absolutely did not happen,” said Mr Greaney, who had previously said Doyle had become “enraged”.
The sentencing hearing will continue on Tuesday.
