CCTV from a mobile phone shop appears to show a grey Ford people carrier edging through packed crowds on Dale Street two minutes before emergency calls were made.
Liam Doyle, Martin Fricker Senior Reporter and Eve Beattie News Reporter at Daily Record
13:51, 27 May 2025Updated 13:54, 27 May 2025
Shocking news CCTV footage sheds new light on what occurred just minutes before chaos struck in Liverpool on Monday night.
The clip, obtained by the Mirror, shows a grey Ford people carrier attempting to squeeze through crowds of excited football supporters just moments before accelerating down Water street, hitting multiple people and injuring nearly 50 of them.
The first frantic calls were made to the emergency services just two minutes later, with first responders treating those injured immediately at the scene.
The chilling incident has rippled across the UK and beyond, sparking questions about how the car was able to gain access to the street in the first place.
CCTV captures car driving down Dale Street, Liverpool moments before incident
CCTV shows the car squeezing through crowds(Image: Daily Mirror)
The shocking new CCTV shows the Ford crawling slowly down the street, surrounded by hundreds of people. The car can be seen edging ahead of others, travelling faster towards the city centre. People appeared to be at ease around the cars as they crawled through the centre, keeping their focus trained on the festivities before the car - minutes later - powered into dozens of people.
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It has been alleged the car could have been attempting to follow an ambulance when it turned on to Water Street, with various sources saying the idea the driver tailgated an ambulance is a working theory.
(Image: Daily Mirror)
It is understood the police are considering this as a line of enquiry. Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, said he, his wife and two children watched the collision as it happened around 10 feet away from them. The dad added the car had emerged from "right next to an ambulance" which was parked at the time.
Mr Rashid said: "It emerged from just right next to an ambulance, which was parked up. This grey people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us."
He added the car was going "extremely fast" when it sped further down towards the city centre. He said: “It was travelling south, down Water Street, straight towards the Strand, which is where the docks are. It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car."
Speaking about the driver of the car and any potential motive during a press conference on Monday evening, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims said: "The car stopped at the scene and a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area was arrested."
CCTV captures car driving down Dale Street, Liverpool moments before incident
The car would soon turn down Water Street in Liverpool(Image: Daily Mirror)
"We believe him to be the driver of the vehicle. What I can tell you is that we believe this to be an isolated incident and we are not currently looking for anyone else in relation to it. The incident is not currently being treated as terrorism."
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Local officials have warned against any further speculation about the incident, with Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram saying doing so is "part of the problem". He said: "There's a lot of speculation and that's part of the problem," the Liverpool City Region mayor responds.
"All those things caused real consternation, but the police acted very, very quickly to put paid to some of that speculation. I don't think it's worth us speculating on what might have happened to the driver."
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