More than 100 pedestrians were injured after a Ford Galaxy was driven into a crowd
Husna Anjum, Adam Everett and Patrick Edrich
20:11, 25 Nov 2025Updated 20:22, 25 Nov 2025
Paul Doyle, 54, faces a series of charges stemming from an incident on the day of Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade.
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Paul Doyle, 54, faces a series of charges stemming from an incident on the day of Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade.(Image: PA)
A man accused of driving his car into a crowd of Liverpool FC fans wiped away tears as his trial got underway. Paul Doyle, 54, faces a series of charges stemming from an incident on the day of Liverpool's Premier League trophy parade.
More than 100 pedestrians, ranging from children to a 78-year-old woman, were injured after being struck by a Ford Galaxy on Water Street in Liverpool city centre shortly after 6pm on May 26 this year. Of those, 50 people required hospital treatment and were later discharged.
Doyle appeared at Liverpool Crown Court this morning (November 25), wearing a black suit over a white shirt and grey tie and sporting glasses, with his greying hair slicked back. According to the Liverpool Echo, the defendant, who faces 31 charges in total, wiped tears from his eyes as he pleaded not guilty to four charges that had been amended on the indictment.
On count six, the charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to an 11-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was amended to an allegation of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
Count 21, which accused Doyle of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a 12-year-old boy, was altered to an allegation of wounding with intent. And counts 24 and 25, which had been allegations of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Hannah O’Neill and Stefan Dettlaf, are now charged as causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
A van arrives at Liverpool Crown Court
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A van arrives at Liverpool Crown Court ahead of Paul Doyle's trial(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A sketch done by a court artist sitting inside the courtroom on Tuesday morning showed the moment Doyle held his head in his hands as 33 potential jurors were called into court to begin the selection process. Seven men and five women were sworn in as jurors, with two other women confirmed as reserves.
Doyle, of Burghill Road in West Derby, Liverpool, faces a total of 31 charges, including 17 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. The complainants in these matters have been named as six-month-old Teddy Eveson, other boys and girls aged seven months, 10, 11, 13, as well as adults Jack Trotter, Jon Evans, Scott Dolan, Ashton Gilmore, Jacqueline McClaren, Jamie Fagan, Carl Martin, James Vernon, Emily Wright, David Price, James Weston, and Ethan Gillard.
A further nine charges allege that he caused grievous bodily harm with intent to Helen Gilmore, Anna Bilonozhenko, Sheree Aldridge, Sam Alexander, Hannah O’Neill, Stefan Dettlaf, Christine Seeckts, Susan Passey and Aaron Cothliff.
He finally faces three allegations of wounding with intent against Simon Nash, Robin Darke, and a 12-year-old boy, as well as matters of affray and dangerous driving. He previously pleaded not guilty to the other charges during a plea and trial preparation hearing before the same court in September.
The Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC told jurors the trial concerned events connected to Doyle’s "alleged conduct at the Liverpool FC parade".
The judge said: "The incident, as you may already be aware from general public knowledge, occurred in a busy city centre setting and has been the subject of public attention. For that reason it is especially important each of you keep strictly to the rules I am about to outline to you."
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He said their decisions must be based solely on the evidence heard in court and warned them against doing their own research. Jurors were told not to use social media to speak about the trial.