The man known as a 'role model father' with a 'heart of gold' was expected to claim in court that he acted in panic and fear when he rammed into the crowd, but CCTV footage shows a different story
Paul Doyle has admitted to deliberately ploughing into the crowd
Paul Doyle has admitted to deliberately ploughing into the crowd
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As thousands of fans lined the route of Liverpool's victory parade in the city centre, filling the skies with a red haze, six miles away in a quiet cul-de-sac, a father-of-three slowly reversed out of his drive to pull away.
Not a football fan himself, Paul Doyle wasn't fussed about joining the celebrations. Instead, he'd agreed to drop off a friend and his family in town so they could join in. He also offered to collect his friend after the parade was over, a decision that will no doubt haunt him for the rest of his life. "Paul, being Paul, the good guy he was, he'd have offered to collect them," a neighbour said. But the former Marine never made it back home.
That day, the Doyle everyone thought they knew - the "friendly family man, "role model father," and "nice lad" - ceased to exist. Instead of driving back to his family residence in Croxteth, he drove onto a cordoned-off street filled with Liverpool supporters trying to make their way home. Doyle seemingly lost his temper and deliberately rammed into the crowd, leaving 134 people injured - including two babies and six other children.
More than a million people attended the parade before it descended into carnage
More than a million people attended the parade before it descended into carnage
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The horror began shortly after 6 pm on Liverpool's Water Street, when a silver Ford Galaxy Titanium mounted the pavement and hurtled through the crowd. Dozens of people were struck as the vehicle ploughed on for a distance of around 50 metres. The oldest victim, a 77-year-old woman, suffered multiple fractures after being trapped under Doyle's car with an 11-year-old boy and two others. Doyle was arrested at the scene.
Videos and photos of the terrifying carnage soon spread on social media, with news reports of a huge incident running across all TV networks. It was in that moment that Doyle's unsuspecting wife found herself living anyone's worst nightmare. "She [the wife] first realised when she saw it was her car on the telly, when she saw it being driven at the parade," a source told The Sun.
"The normal police cars turned up at teatime then Matrix van turned up later that night." It's understood that, when neighbours first saw the police van turn up outside the family home, they assumed the Doyles had been victims of a burglary.
Children were trapped under the car after Doyle rammed into them
Children were trapped under the car after Doyle drove into them(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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The attack left the city in complete shock, as well as those who knew Doyle. In his local community, he was known as a man who attended church, consoled those struggling with grief with gifts, and always offering to help out with jobs. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, told the Liverpool Echo how he was seen as "Mr Healthy Dude." He said: "He meditates, doesn't drink and he would go out on the grass outside in his bare feet to ground himself. He was a fit guy. He hasn't drunk for as long as I have known him."
"Shocked, stunned," said another neighbour in West Derby. "I know everyone's reg [car registration plate] in the street, so as soon as I saw the images within seconds, I seen him, I said that's his f****** car, on the f****** TV. My heart just sank, I couldn't believe it," they told The Independent. The neighbour said he knocked on the Doyle family's door to check with his wife, who is reportedly a school teacher. "I said, 'Surely his car has been pinched and stolen or something'," he said. "She burst out crying."
Described as a "genuinely nice" man with a "heart of gold," dashcam footage and CCTV recordings from the carnage showed the dad getting "increasingly" annoyed at the crowd, suggesting, said prosecutors, a "calculated" act of aggression rather than a "momentary lapse".
Doyle changed his plea at the 11th hour
Doyle changed his plea at the 11th hour
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CPS Mersey-Cheshire Chief Crown Prosecutor Sarah Hammond said in a statement this morning that Doyle "deliberately drove at" members of the public, "forcing his way through" the crowd after becoming visibly frustrated.
The prosecutor said: "By entering guilty pleas, Doyle has finally accepted that he intentionally drove into crowds of innocent people during Liverpool FC's victory parade. Dashcam footage from Doyle's vehicle shows that as he approached Dale Street and Water Street, he became increasingly agitated by the crowds.
"Rather than wait for them to pass, he deliberately drove at them, forcing his way through. Driving a vehicle into a crowd is an act of calculated violence. This was not a momentary lapse by Paul Doyle — it was a choice he made that day and it turned celebration into mayhem." It was "sheer luck" that no one was killed in the city centre attack, according to police.
The dad-of-three broke down in tears in court
The dad-of-three broke down in tears in court
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Doyle had been expected to claim in court that his actions had been a result of fear and panic, and that he never intended to hurt anyone. But at the 11th hour, just before he was due to stand trial, he plead guilty to all charges, admitting that he deliberately drove into the crowd on that horrific day.
The dad-of-three's voice cracked as he pleaded guilty, wiping away his tears as he admitted to dangerous driving, affray, 17 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, nine counts of causing GBH with intent and three counts of wounding with intent.
Doyle will be sentenced next month, and has been warned that he is facing a lengthy jail sentence.