Newsletter Newsletters Events Events Podcasts Videos Africanews
Loader
Advertisement

Driver who ploughed into crowd at Liverpool football parade jailed for over 21 years

Police guard the site where a man drove a minivan into a crowd of Liverpool football fans in Liverpool, 27 May, 2025
Police guard the site where a man drove a minivan into a crowd of Liverpool football fans in Liverpool, 27 May, 2025 Copyright  AP Photo
Copyright AP Photo
By Kieran Guilbert
Published on
Share Comments
Share Close Button

Paul Doyle, 54, used his vehicle "as a weapon" after losing his temper with crowds at a Liverpool FC victory parade on 26 May, prosecutors said.

A driver who injured more than 130 people by ploughing his car into a crowd of football fans celebrating Liverpool's Premier League title in May was jailed for 21-and-a-half years on Tuesday.

Paul Doyle, 54, rammed his minivan through a mass of fans in Liverpool on 26 May and was stopped only after a bystander got in the vehicle and brought it to a halt.

Doyle sobbed during the two-day sentencing as prosecutors detailed the crime, using graphic video footage and reading emotional statements from dozens of victims.

He pleaded guilty last month to 31 counts, including dangerous driving and multiple counts of attempting or causing grievous bodily harm and intentional wounding.

Sentencing Doyle at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Andrew Menary said the footage of the incident was "truly shocking."

Forensic officers examine the site where a British man drove a minivan into a crowd of football fans in Liverpool, 27 May, 2025
Forensic officers examine the site where a British man drove a minivan into a crowd of football fans in Liverpool, 27 May, 2025 AP Photo

"It is difficult if not impossible to convey in words alone the scenes of devastation you caused. It shows you deliberately accelerating into groups of fans, time and time again," Menary said.

Prosecutors said Doyle used his vehicle "as a weapon" to ram through the sea of people walking toward him following the victory parade.

Doyle was furious because he couldn't get where he was going fast enough to pick up a family friend who had attended the parade, according to prosecutor Paul Greaney.

"He was a man in a rage, whose anger had completely taken hold of him," Greaney said.

"He not only caused injury on a large scale, but he also generated horror in those who had attended what they had thought would be a day of joyfulness."

Judge Menary dismissed Doyle's claim of having panicked as "demonstrably untrue".

Prosecutors spent hours reading out the statements of victims, some still nursing injuries.

One was from a 16-year-old boy who lost his apprenticeship as a woodworker because he was kept awake by nightmares and couldn't concentrate at work. A 23-year-old man said he had to learn how to walk again. Susan Farrell, a 55-year-old mother, whose daughter was a die-hard Liverpool fan said she could no longer watch matches.

"The sight of red shirts and the sounds of chants are unbearable reminders of that day," Farrell said.

Additional sources • AP

Go to accessibility shortcuts
Share Comments

Read more

Man accused of ramming car into Liverpool football parade pleads not guilty

Man accused of ramming car into Liverpool FC fans faces 24 new charges

How the Liverpool car-ramming sparked a wave of online misinformation