Ex-Royal Marine with violent past drove at Liverpool parade crowds in fit of ‘undiluted fury’
A former Royal Marine with a violent past attacked a crowd at Liverpool’s victory parade in a terrifying attack with “undiluted rage” and then lied to police about acting in fear for his own life.
Horrific footage taken from Paul Doyle’s Ford Galaxy shows the 54-year-old driver using the 1.9-tonne vehicle as a weapon, knocking out more than 100 people at the event last May.
Victims were trapped under the car as it sped into the crowd, while others, including a six-month-old baby, were thrown into the air or thrown to the ground.
Doyle, who was revealed to have previous convictions for serious assaults that led to his discharge from the Marines, claimed he feared for his life, but Judge Andrew Menary KC, who sentenced him to 21 years and six months in prison, said his statements were false.
There was a dramatic day in court:
- It was revealed that Doyle bit off part of the ear of a man “in a drunken fight with sailors” 32 years ago
- Heroic ex-soldier Daniel Barr, who stopped Doyle’s car, was given the High Sheriff’s Award for his bravery.
- Victims, including a woman who fled the war in Ukraine, bravely shared the lasting trauma Doyle inflicted
- Doyle showed no reaction when he was sent to his cell after the sentence.
Sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Menary, the Registrar of Liverpool, told Doyle it was “impossible to understand that any right-thinking person could have acted as you did.” He added: “Driving into crowds of pedestrians with such persistence and disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding.”
Describing the footage from Doyle’s car shown to the court on Monday as “truly shocking”, Judge Menary said it was difficult to put into words the scene of devastation as thousands of people gathered to celebrate Liverpool FC winning the Premier League.
“You hit people head-on, slammed others onto bonnets, ran over limbs, crushed baby strollers and forced those nearby to scatter in terror,” the judge told Doyle, who sometimes sobbed during his speeches.
“You advanced quickly and for a considerable distance, violently pushing people aside or simply running over them. Person after person,” he added.
During the judge’s statement after the two-day sentence, some of the victims who filled the gallery in the courtroom put their arms around each other. Others wiped tears from their eyes.
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A total of 134 people were injured when Doyle plunged into the crowd; 71 people, including the oldest victim, 77-year-old Susan Passey, gave moving victim impact statements that were read to a tense courtroom.
Judge Menary said Doyle admitted 31 offenses related to the victory march on the second day of his trial last month and said the evidence against him was “overwhelming”.
Prosecutor Paul Greaney KC said Doyle, who had come to pick up a friend from the parade, became enraged and drove with the intention of damaging the crowd.
His own dashcam footage shows him driving through a gap between traffic cones onto the closed Water Street, where he tackles terrified pedestrians to the ground and shouts “fucking move”.
Thanks to the “hero” ex-soldier Daniel Barr, who jumped into the back seat of the vehicle and put the automatic transmission lever in the “park” position, the vehicle was brought to a halt, partly due to the injured corpses lying underneath.
Mr Barr, who was in court at the sentencing, was singled out for his “exceptionally brave” actions by Judge Menary, who awarded him the High Sheriff’s Bravery Award and £250. Victims warmly embraced the 41-year-old after the hearing.
The packed court, just an eight-minute walk from Water Street, heard Doyle told police as he was being arrested: “I ruined my family’s life” and then claimed he had acted in panic and fear for his life because of the crowd’s behavior.
Judge Menary described the claim as “manifestly false”. He said Doyle’s swearing “underlined your state of mind at the time; not fear or panic, but inexplicable and undiluted anger.”
The judge sentenced him to 21 years and 6 months in prison. He was also banned from driving for three years after his release, with the calculation that he would spend two-thirds of his prison sentence in custody.
When the sentence was announced, the victims whispered and cheered. Sheree Aldridge, mother of baby Teddy Eveson, who miraculously escaped being thrown 15ft across the road in his pram by Doyle’s vehicle, said: Independent It was a “justice for families” moment.
The 37-year-old man, who suffered a life-changing injury to his leg, said: “I hope he has time to think about all the people he’s hurt, not just the physical side but the psychological side as well… losing his job, money problems and mental health.”
Anna Bilonozhenko, who fled the war in Ukraine and suffered a serious fracture to her left knee, wrote in a victim impact statement read in court: “We came to this country because of the war in our homeland, hoping to finally feel safe. At first it was. But now that feeling has disappeared. Realizing that this is extremely painful feels like losing our safety again.”
The mother of the 11-year-old boy, who was dragged under Doyle’s vehicle and left a scar on his face, said, “He wakes up crying and relives the incident.”
Judge Menary told Doyle: “The overall harm is extraordinary, not only in terms of the number of victims and the severity of their injuries, but also in the depth, duration and human scale of the trauma you have caused.”
Tuesday’s hearing also revealed Doyle had previous convictions for serious assault, including causing grievous bodily harm when he bit a man’s ear in 1993. When asked in the interview what the crime was, Doyle told police it was a “drunken fight with sailors.”
Newspaper clippings from the period describe the incident at a service station on the M6 in Lancashire, in which Doyle struggled with his victim on the ground, then sunk his teeth into his ear and bit off the top of it.
The conviction, which resulted in a 12-month prison sentence, followed an offense at a nightclub in which Doyle told officers he was “beaten” by men during a brawl after he was kicked out of the venue.
Doyle also committed military crimes while serving in the Royal Marines, including violence against a senior officer. He was discharged after serving just 22 months following the nightclub attack.
Speaking after Doyle’s sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald said the case was the most comprehensive investigation in the history of Merseyside Police, with more than 700 statements taken and 280 pieces of footage viewed.
He said: “It is difficult to comprehend the devastating impact that the events of that day had and continue to have on so many people.”
James Allison, of the Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Why did he do it? I think the simple answer is that he lost his temper. He went into a rage.”
“He just wanted to go down that path, and the next few minutes of trying to go down that path probably ruined a lot of people’s lives.”
