A former Royal Marine has been handed a 21-year prison sentence for deliberately using his car as a 'weapon' to plough into a crowd of Liverpool FC supporters celebrating their team's title win.
Dashcam Footage Reveals Deliberate Act of Violence
Paul Doyle, 54, had claimed to police that he 'panicked' and drove into the crowds on Dale Street in Liverpool on May 26 out of fear for his own life. However, damning evidence from his own dashboard camera and CCTV presented at Liverpool Crown Court told a very different story.
The footage captured the married father-of-three losing his temper in a fit of rage. He could be heard shouting expletives including 'f***ing p****s' and 'get out the f***ing way' as pedestrians, including children, scrambled to safety. The haunting video showed him swerve away from stationary traffic and into a left lane closed to vehicles but filled with hundreds of fans returning from the waterfront celebrations.
The view through his windscreen showed the moment a man landed on the bonnet, smashing the glass, as others were seen on the car or appearing to go underneath it. Doyle wept in the dock as the footage was played, but showed no emotion as the lengthy sentence was passed earlier this week.
Victims' Lives Shattered by 'Surreal' Attack
Several witnesses and victims provided harrowing accounts of the attack, with many initially fearing they were caught in a terror incident. Mike Blair, 30, and his mother Debbie, 55, described hearing Doyle 'drop a gear' before his car 'flew past' and screams erupted.
'My hero son pushed me out of the way and saved my life,' said Mrs Blair, before her son ran to help those trapped. 'There were just bodies everywhere. It was just crazy, absolutely crazy,' Mike Blair recounted. 'We saw people underneath so we tried lifting the car. One guy got pulled out.'
The attack left deep physical and psychological scars. A 12-year-old boy, separated from his mother in the chaos, said the day 'changed to the worst day of my life'. He now suffers from a fear of crowded places and anxiety when crossing roads. 'I often replay the incident in my head,' he said. 'I don't understand why the man in the car has done this to me and my mum.'
Other victims include:
- Anna Bilonozhenko, 43: A Ukrainian refugee who fled war only to be injured in the attack, requiring a metal plate and screws for a broken knee. 'It feels like losing our safety all over again,' she said.
- Sheree Aldridge, 37: Who saw her six-month-old son Teddy flung through the air in his pram, convinced he was dead. She spent 18 days in hospital and had to learn to walk again.
- John Davey, 31: Suffered spinal fractures in three places, causing 'relentless' pain that has left him unable to work. 'This incident has stolen my independence,' he said.
- Alan Spain, 26: Said Liverpool matches are now 'tainted' as celebrating fans trigger traumatic memories of the attack on Water Street.
A 'Tough Time' Behind Bars Awaits
Prior to sentencing, Doyle had been treated as a Category A inmate, reserved for those posing the highest danger to the public. Criminologist and psychologist Alex Izsatt suggested he would likely be downgraded to Category B to serve his time but warned of a difficult incarceration.
'It's likely he will face a tough time from other inmates due to the range of victims as well as the fact he drove into football fans,' Izsatt told The Mirror. The expert added that he may start in a high-security prison before a potential move dependent on good behaviour.
For the victims and the city of Liverpool, the scars of the celebration that turned into a nightmare will endure far longer than the 21-year sentence. As Debbie Blair concluded, the deliberate nature of the act was what made it so hard to comprehend: 'You can deal with it being an accident... but not deliberate. That's going to affect a lot of people.'
