‘It left emotional scars on our entire family’

Liverpool fans, who were injured when Paul Doyle drove his car through the crowd during the team’s victory ceremony, talked about what they experienced that day.

Liverpool Crown Court heard statements from his victims before Doyle, 54, was sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison for charges including dangerous driving and causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent.

Giving statements one after another, the court listened to the psychological and physical impact of that day.

One of the most shocking moments described when Ian Passey, 47, saw his 77-year-old mother trapped under Doyle’s car, her head “in a pool of blood”.

Another, the mother of an 11-year-old boy trapped under the wheels of the car, told the court the collision “not only left him with bodily injuries, but also left emotional scars on our entire family”.

Footage of the moment he was released by emergency staff was shown to the court on Monday.

Prosecuting barrister Philip Astbury said his mother read: “My son is just a little boy and has his whole life ahead of him.

“There are good days and bad days. On the good days, we try not to lose hope. But the bad days are heavy; full of fear, anxiety and sadness.”

He said his son has been afraid of cars since the attack.

“He also became self-conscious about the scar on his face,” she said.

“He’s worried about what people will think when they see this. He asks if people will laugh at the bald patch on the left side of his head.”

“As a mother, it breaks my heart to see her questioning her appearance and being afraid of being judged or bullied.

“Nightmares are the worst. He wakes up crying, reliving the event.

“And it’s not just him, we all do it.”

Total 78 people We presented the victim’s personal statements to the court, Here they told how their “best day ever” quickly turned into the worst.

A mother told the court her baby stroller, with her six-month-old baby inside, was hit by Doyle’s Ford Galaxy.

He said: “I relive the moment of the collision over and over again, especially the terrifying sight of my car crashing into the car with my six-month-old baby inside and taking her away.

“The horror of not knowing at that moment whether he was alive or dead will haunt me forever.”

Doyle was seen crying as Mr Astbury read the words of one of his victims, a 12-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The child said: “I found myself on the ground after being hit by a car that I didn’t expect was coming, I’ve never been this scared before in my life.”

The boy’s mother said that she saw her son motionless on the ground and her heart was squeezed.

She said the incident “made me very concerned about having to watch my son deal with pain, disappointment, feeling sad and isolated from his friends at school, nightmares and the after-effects on him.”

When the statements were read in court Monday and Tuesday, one of them was from a woman who told Doyle to take responsibility for what he had done.

Susan Farrell, 55, addressed Doyle directly and confronted him about the tears he was seen shedding during court proceedings.

Speaking on behalf of herself and her husband Colin Farrell, 62, the actress said: “There are hundreds of people affected by your actions. I want you to think of them all.

“Don’t sit in the club crying for yourself. Be brave and take responsibility for your actions.”

The court heard from Anna Bilonozhenko, 43, who came to the UK from Ukraine in 2024 to escape war.

He said he thought spending the day at the parade with his 22-year-old daughter Sasha would “lift our spirits.”

Instead he faced an injury that required metal plates to be inserted into his leg.

Ms. Bilonozhenko said: “We came to this country because of the war in our homeland, hoping to finally feel safe. That’s what we did at first.

“But now that feeling is gone.

“It’s very painful to realize this; it feels like we’re losing our security again.”

John Davey, 31, said after the events of May 26: “The joy of football, the joy of family trips, the joy of living freely; all of this was taken from me.”

He said: “The collision left me with a spinal fracture in three places. Since then, the pain has continued day and night.

“I cannot work, that is, I cannot provide for my family. I have three children and all the responsibility falls on my wife’s shoulders.

“This left me embarrassed, ashamed, and hurt because it’s not fair that they should suffer because of what happened to me.”

He added: “This incident robbed me of my independence, my happiness, my peace.

“It changed me forever, and it changed my family’s life forever.”

A 16-year-old boy reported feeling “scared, angry and sad.”

The boy said: “Sometimes I think things could be so much worse and that scares me, but equally this incident should never have happened and so I find it hard to accept it and move on with my life.

“It’s not fair to have to deal with all this at my age.”

“I should have been able to protect my little sister and my nephew.”

Meanwhile, Amanda Gardener, 52, described the feeling of “guilt” she felt after the attack.

“My sister didn’t actually want to go [to the Liverpool FC victory parade] “But I convinced them it would be a good day,” he wrote.

“Then I saw my sister blow up.

“We lost our sister last year; I thought I lost another and I thought I was going to tell her family that she had died.”

Ian Passey said he realized Doyle had gotten off the ground after crashing his car and had lost sight of his mother.

He said he found her in a pool of blood under the car.

She said in a statement: “Not being able to get close to him, hold his hand and reassure him, I feared the worst.

“I thought my mother had been killed and I called my brother to tell him about it.”

He said he still has vivid nightmares and can’t get into large crowds.

He said: “One man’s actions on May 26 will change my life and my mother’s life forever.”

Doyle, of Burghill Road, West Derby, admitted a total of 31 charges last month.

The court heard how he “lost his temper” and drove his car into fans returning home from Premier League title celebrations.

Camera footage taken from the car and played in court showed shocked moments when fans were thrown onto or fell under the bonnet of the car as it sped down Water Street, which was closed to traffic, at around 18:00 GMT on 26 May.

Doyle had denied the charges but changed his plea to guilty at the beginning of the trial.

The former Royal Marine pleaded guilty to 31 charges, including causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent to victims aged between six months and 77 years, dangerous driving and affray.