WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: CCTV footage shows the moment Paul Doyle drove through the crowds at the Liverpool parade last year
Disturbing CCTV footage of the incident has been released
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This is the moment Paul Doyle drove into crowds at the Liverpool FC Victory Parade earlier this year. The footage was shown today at the 54-year-old's sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court - where he was jailed for 21 years and six months.
Doyle, 54, could be heard on his car’s own camera swearing and shouting as he mowed down supporters who were in the city centre on May 26 to celebrate the football club’s Premier League victory. More than 100 pedestrians, ranging from babies to a 78-year-old woman, were injured when Doyle deliberately ploughed into the crowd in his Ford Galaxy.
Fifty casualties required hospital treatment in the aftermath of the appalling incident, although they were later discharged. Doyle admitted a total of 31 charges in relation to the incident last month on the day he was due to stand trial. He returned to Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (Monday) in order to be sentenced for his crimes.
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Paul Doyle screams ‘move!’ as he drives through Liverpool parade crowd
Although the dashcam footage shown in court will not be released because of its graphic nature, police did release dramatic CCTV footage of Doyle ploughing through the crowds and eventually reversing into an ambulance. The audio from his dashcam has also been released, showing him swearing at the fans.
Doyle changed his plea in November after finally admitting that he intentionally drove into the crowds following the revealing dashcam footage being shown in court. Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald, the senior investigating officer, said today: “In my 20 years of police service this is the most distressing and graphic footage that I have come across.
“It was really difficult to watch for me and the whole of the investigation team, but it was really important that we did because we had to tell the story of each individual victim as to what had gone on.” Mr Fitzgerald said dashcam footage proved to be the “key evidence” against Doyle, who pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial to 31 offences related to the incident.
He said: “It showed from his view exactly what he was faced with, the density of the crowd, the amount of people, and really gives us an insight into how horrific this crime really was. Watching people bounce off his vehicle, go underneath his vehicle, and the sheer terror on victims’ faces, was really difficult to view during the investigation.”
Parents could be seen pulling children out of the way of Doyle’s car as it travelled along the road, while he was heard saying “f****** pricks”. The view through his windscreen showed him approach a line of cars waiting to turn right off the road before Water Street, which was closed to traffic.
Doyle reversed and then swerved into the left lane, which was closed as hundreds of fans made their way back from the celebrations. The footage also showed a man on the windscreen of the vehicle and others on the bonnet as Doyle continued to drive.
People, including children, were seen going underneath the car as Doyle carried on accelerating through the crowds. Prosecutor James Allison, from CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “It was at times difficult for me to watch and I’ve been doing this job 20 years. It was a difficult case because of the material we’re dealing with, not because of complexity or legal matters. We were dealing with people who were run down on streets that I walk down every day.”