Liverpool parade attacker jailed for 21 years and six months

A man who used his car as a "weapon" to plough into more than 130 people at Liverpool FC's victory parade has been jailed for 21 years and six months.

Paul Doyle, 54, drove at crowds "in a rage" after his "anger had completely taken hold of him" shortly before 18:00 BST on 26 May, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Judge Andrew Menary KC said the ex-Royal Marine, who stared straight ahead with no expression as he was sentenced, had generated "fear and panic" and his "disregard for human life defied ordinary understanding".

He admitted 31 charges including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and dangerous driving and affray, with victims ranging from a six-month-old baby to a 77-year-old woman.

The married father of three was travelling into the city centre to collect friends from the parade when he "lost his temper" and drove his Ford Galaxy directly into supporters making their way home from the Premier League title celebrations.

Dashcam footage from Doyle's vehicle showed the moments when fans were thrown on to the bonnet of his car or fell underneath as he accelerated down Water Street, which had been closed to traffic.

Doyle can be heard shouting "move" and swearing at the crowd, including after he hit a 10-year-old girl.

As he sat in a police van following the rampage, Doyle can be heard saying "my life's ruined now" in police bodycam footage.

Judge Menary told Doyle as he sentenced him: "It is difficult, if not impossible, to convey in words alone the scene of devastation you caused.

"It shows you, quite deliberately, accelerating into groups of fans time and time again.

"You struck people head-on, knocked others onto the bonnet, drove over limbs, crushed prams and forced those nearby to scatter in terror."

Judge Menary continued: "You ploughed on at speed and over a considerable distance, violently knocking people aside or simply driving over them - person, after person, after person.

"You accelerated forwards and backwards repeatedly, several victims became trapped beneath the vehicle as you continued to move it.

"Others were thrown into the air or propelled across the ground."

He added Doyle acted in an "inexplicable and undiluted fury" when he ploughed into more than 100 people in the space of two minutes - and was only stopped after a bystander managed to get inside the automatic vehicle to force its gear selector into park mode.

Doyle, from Croxteth, Liverpool, spent large portions of the two-day sentencing hearing in tears - with dashcam and CCTV footage of his attack played multiple times to the public gallery.

He gave no reaction as he was taken down from the dock by prison officers.

Victims of the rampage on Water Street in the city centre spoke of their terror and injuries during the two-day hearing.

Sheree Aldridge, 37, said she thought her baby son Teddy Eveson had died after his pram was thrown into the air after being hit by Doyle's car, adding that she thought she would "be next".

"I thought my children would grow up without a mother," she said.

A 12-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "I found myself on the floor having been hit by a car I did not see coming, I have never felt so scared before in my life."

The boy's mother said her heart sank when she saw her child motionless on the floor.

She said: "The sight of my son lying motionless on the road, not moving for those few seconds, and the sound of the car hitting people will live with me forever."

When interviewed by police, Doyle said he had seen someone with a knife and had driven in panic for fear he would be attacked.

But police found no evidence from CCTV footage or witnesses that anyone in the area had a knife.

No defects were found with the car and Doyle was not under the influence of drink or drugs.

The IT networking engineer changed his plea to guilty on the second day of his trial last month, with the judge telling him during sentencing that his jail term reflected the fact he could have admitted the offences "much earlier than you did".

The court also heard Doyle had previous convictions for offences of "serious violence" between the ages of 18 and 22 but had stayed out of trouble for 30 years leading up to 26 May.

He was jailed for 12 months in November 1994 for causing grievous bodily harm when he bit off the ear of another man in a fight in July the previous year.

After Doyle was taken down from the dock, Judge Menary said he wished to formally commend member of the public Daniel Barr, who climbed into the back seat of Doyle's car and held the automatic gear stick in park mode to bring the vehicle to a stop.

"His actions on that day were outstandingly brave," the judge said.

"At a moment when many understandably feared for their own safety, he ran towards the danger, entered a moving vehicle and brought it to a halt, thereby preventing further injury and quite possibly saving lives."

On the steps outside court following the hearing, James Allison, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Mersey-Cheshire, said: "Why did he do it? I think the simple answer is he lost his temper. He went into a rage.

"He just wanted to get down that road, and in trying to get down that road those next couple of minutes probably devastated a lot of people's lives."

Det Ch Insp John Fitzgerald, of Merseyside Police, said: "Doyle's total disregard for the safety of others - particularly the many young children present on Dale Street and Water Street that day - is beyond comprehension.

"It is sheer luck that no lives were lost."