Man jailed for 21 years after driving into crowds during Liverpool parade

The man who deliberately drove his car into crowds of football fans at the Liverpool FC Premier League title parade has been handed a 26-yearprison sentence.

The 29 victims with the most serious injuries featured on the indictment, but a total of 134 people were recorded as injured on the day. Hundreds more encountered a near miss, or witnessed the horror as it unfolded.

In his seven minute rampage, the former Royal Marine caused lasting trauma to those who were present, and affected the whole city. A survivor of the Manchester Arena bombing was among those injured.

Paul Doyle, having initially denied the charges against him, changed his pleas to guilty at the start of his trial. The 31 counts covered the injuries to 29 people, as well as dangerous driving and affray offences.

The dashcam footage

The court was shown highly distressing dashcam footage taken from the front windscreen of Doyle's car, which played a pivotal role in the case. It shows how the defendant forced his way through tightly packed crowds over a 400m stretch on Dale Street and Water Street.

The video won't be released to the public due to its graphic nature, and to protect victims.

In the footage, you can hear Doyle increasingly losing his temper, swearing at the crowds to "move" out of his way, holding his horn down and accelerating as countless parade goers, including young children, leap in fear to avoid his vehicle.

The video shows victims landing on Doyle's windscreen, sometimes in groups, before disappearing underneath his Ford Galaxy. But that doesn't stop him. He accelerates, shouting more profanities, before reversing and then turning his wheel to the right, as crowds of people domino to the floor, screaming for their lives.

Senior Investigating Officer DCI John Fitzgerald said: "In my 20 years of policing, this is the most graphic and distressing footage I have ever encountered.

"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."

Why did he do it?

The prosecution say it's clear that this was not an accident. There was no impairment through drink or drugs, and no medical issues or mechanical problems with the car.

Paul Doyle, they say, simply lost his temper.

Previous suggestions about Doyle suffering from PTSD as a result of his time in the Marines have also been debunked by DCI Fitzgerald: "He was never deployed to active service during his time and in terms of PTSD or any medical evidence, there was none brought forward by the defence and there was nothing from our evidential point of view that would suggest any medical reason why Doyle has committed this offence."

We can now also reveal that Paul Doyle has two previous convictions for violence around 30 years ago. He served jail time for one offence, after biting a man's ear off during a drunken brawl in the early 1990s.

DCI Fitzgerald continued: "It was a serious offence, hence why he served a period of imprisonment, and that was during the time he was with the Royal Marines. He stated in his interview that it was 'a fight between drunken sailors'. It's part of the reason that he was discharged from the Royal Marines; his service was no longer required in the early 1990s. Those convictions, we can presumably say, formed part of that decision."

The Good Samaritan

In court today, special mention was made to member of the public-turned Good Samaritan, Daniel Barr, who entered Doyle’s vehicle and helped bring the incident to a stop, by pushing the automatic gear stick into park.

Those actions, combined with the people trapped underneath Doyle's car, meant the vehicle lost its traction and came to a halt, despite Doyle continuing to try and drive forward.

DCI Fitzgerald added: "There is no doubt in my mind that Doyle would have continued to drive and cause further injuries had Daniel not acted with such bravery. He was a member of the public with no training in dealing with situations like this, but he took it upon himself to try and help - and ultimately he did. We're very grateful for what Daniel did on that day."

The investigation

Officers say this has been one of the most extensive investigations in the history of Merseyside Police. In the initial stages, more than 70 officers were assigned to the case; collecting 276 pieces of visual evidence. The force has supported 134 victims, spoken to more than 1,500 witnesses, and gathered over 700 statements, over the last seven months.

DCI Fitzgerald said: "I want to again place on record my sincere thanks to the emergency services who responded so bravely and professionally, including Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, the North West and St John Ambulance Services, HM Coastguard, and our policing colleagues. Their actions ensured that the injured and traumatised received immediate care and support.

"I also want to highlight local businesses who assisted in housing the injured immediately after the incident.

"Finally, I want to thank my investigation team and colleagues at the Crown Prosecution Service, who worked tirelessly to build a case so strong that Doyle had no choice but to plead guilty to the charges he faced."

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