Paul Doyle sentencing live: Victims reveal how ‘best day ever’ turned into horror of Liverpool parade attack
Paul Doyle was caught on dashcam footage swearing at football fans as he drove into them, leaving 134 people injured
Paul Doyle’s victims have said that the Liverpool victory parade had meant to be the “best day ever” but had turned into the stuff of nightmares, leaving dozens with traumatic flashbacks and anxiety.
The former Royal Marine sobbed in the dock as he heard how a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl had been left with mentally affected, while other football fans said their enjoyment of watching Liverpool FC had been “tainted”.
Anna Bilonozhenko, 43, said she came to the UK to escape the war in Ukraine but the incident had felt “like losing our safety all over again”.
On the first day of the two-day sentencing hearing, Liverpool Crown Court heard how a hero ex-soldier Daniel Barr bravely climbed into Doyle’s car and brought it to a standstill which ended the two-minute anger-fuelled rampage.
After his arrest, the 54-year-old told police officers “I’ve just ruined my family’s life” after being arrested for driving his car into a Liverpool football victory parade, leaving more than 130 people injured.
The former Royal Marine also told officers he had “just panicked” and claimed he “thought he was going to die” during the incident on 26 May.
Timeline: How Paul Doyle unleashed two minutes of horror at Liverpool victory parade
Paul Doyle shouted “move”, “f****** pricks” and “get out the f****** way” as he ploughed his car into Liverpool football fans during an expletive-laden rampage, horrifying footage has revealed.
Dashcam footage from Doyle’s car shows pedestrians pulling their children out of the vehicle’s path as the former Royal Marine drove “in a rage” through crowds celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title win.
The disturbing recording also shows a man landing on the car’s windscreen, causing it to smash. Prosecutors said the “anger had completely taken hold of him” when he used the Ford Galaxy – which weighed nearly two tonnes – “as a weapon”, injuring more than 130 people.
Read our full article here:
How Paul Doyle unleashed two minutes of horror at Liverpool victory parade
Sentencing hearing adjourned for the day
Judge Andrew Menary has adjourned the case to restart tomorrow morning at 10.30am.
The Crown Prosecution Service is midway through summarising victim impact statements to the court.
Tomorrow we also expect to hear Doyle’s mitigation in relation to the offence.
Injuries have left mother feeling 'disgusting, disfigured and broken'
A mother described how she thought her baby son had died after his pram was thrown into the air after being hit by Paul Doyle’s car, adding that she thought she would “be next”.
Sheree Aldridge, 37, said her partner Dan Eveson had proudly dressed their six-month-old son Teddy Eveson in his Liverpool FC shirt that day and “was excited to share this moment” with him.
Her statement read: “In that moment I thought I was going to die. I didn’t know where Dan and Teddy was.
“I felt an overwhelming pain in my leg and looked up to see Teddy’s pushchair on its side further up the road. I thought my Teddy was dead. I thought I was next. I thought my children would grow up without a mother.”
Ms Aldridge said her injuries made her feel “disgusting, disfigured and broken,” that she has been diagnosed with a lifelong condition called Morel-Lavaellee Lesion and suffers from severe back and hip pain from prolonged use of crutches.
She said: “Teddy hasn’t been in a pushchair since that day. My leg will never be the same again. I will never be the same again. I am scarred for life.
“This was supposed to be my maternity leave – a time to bond with my baby and make memories. Instead, I’ve been robbed of those moments.”
'Everytime I see a Ford Galaxy the incident replays in my mind'
Another one of the victims was Simon Nash, aged 53, who got separated from his wife and son when he was hit by Doyle’s car.
He suffered rib fractures and a head injury that left him “dazed and frightened”, the court hears.
In his statement, he said: “I often replay the moments in my mind – the sound, the shock and fear. I feel a loss of confidence and safety in situations that never used to bother me.
“Every time I see a Ford Galaxy, the incident replays in my mind.”
His injuries meant he took time off work and no longer plays football.
He added: “The day could have ended a lot differently. I feel lucky to still be here.”
Paul Doyle sobs in the dock as he hears victim impact statements
Paul Doyle put his head down and sobbed as the court heard a statement from one woman whose 13-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter were injured in the crash.
She said their mental health, and that of her husband who was also there, had been affected.
She said: “This has placed significant strain on our daily lives, routines and our ability to work and function as a family unit.”
Cycle response paramedic James Vernon, who was on duty in the city centre on the day, said in his statement: “We are trained and well-rehearsed on how to respond to terrorist incidents, but nothing prepares you for the terror that I felt in that split second, the fear was immeasurable.”
He added: “Never in my life have I heard or seen my dad cry. I recall sitting in Mowgli on Water Street, which was a makeshift ward for all those injured, when I spoke to my dad on the phone. Hearing his voice break completely broke me, I burst into tears.”
'Watching Liverpool play has been tainted'
Alan Spain, 26, has said that the attack will “always be on my mind for the rest of my life”, and that every time he watches Liverpool, he returns to the terror of 26 May.
“What I am saying is that one of my favourite pastimes, ever since I started doing it at the age of 6 with my dad and my younger brother, watching Liverpool play has been tainted,” he said.
“Every time I watch them, I end up on Water Street. Every time I see the Liverpool jersey I was wearing that day, in my wardrobe, I end up on Water Street. Every time Liverpool score and I see the fans in the Kop jump and cheer and celebrate, I end up on Water Street. Because that’s what the crowd were doing.
“Everyone was cheering and celebrating, and everyone was in a joyous mood. Everyone was there to have fun. And that was ruined. The same way that I feel as I sit down to watch Liverpool play, now is a little bit ruined.”
'It feels like losing our safety all over again,' says Ukrainian refugee
In a victim impact statement read by prosecution junior counsel Phil Astbury, Anna Bilonozhenko, 43, who came to England in 2024 to escape the war in Ukraine, said she thought spending the day at the parade with her 22-year-old daughter Sasha would “lift our spirits”.
Instead, she was left with an injury that required metal plates to be inserted into her leg.
She said: “We came to this country because of the war in our homeland, hoping to finally feel safe. At first, we did. But now that feeling has been taken away. Realising that is deeply painful – it feels like losing our safety all over again.”
Diamanti Nikiforaki, 53, said: “Even now I remain deeply affected. I can no longer walk in the middle of pedestrianised areas. I am constantly hyper-vigilant and cautious, scanning my surroundings. I experience anticipatory anxiety and find it difficult to relax.”
'My love is Liverpool Football Club, and I am finding it very difficult to go there'
A 41-year-old man said the incident was “the worst experience of my life” and had made his job as a driver “scary”.
Jeremy Pentecost’s victim impact statement read: “Work affected my mental health, driving around all day on my own – at first I was seeing bodies flying here, there and everywhere, unable to stop thinking about the events of the day.”
Ian Moody, 63, said he suffered “intense” physical pain from his injuries and now found himself “feeling very down and emotional over silly things”.
Mr Moody’s wife Tracey Moody, 60, said she has nightmares about the experience.
“My love is Liverpool Football Club, and I am finding it very difficult to go there,” her statement read.
The couple’s son Scott Moody, 26, said: “Psychologically I have been struggling since this day, I have frequent flashbacks when trying to sleep as I can see Water Street while I have my eyes shut, and I can see the chaos that was around me after the incident.”
11-year-old girl left with 'separation anxiety' and sleeping issues
A mother has spoken of the impact on her 11-year-old daughter, who cannot be identified, stating that she has been left “panicky” and has formed “irrational fears” as a result.
She said: “This incident has affected her psychologically. When this first happened, she was struggling to sleep, this has gone on for months now, she was struggling to sleep through the night and would want me to sleep in her bed with her, it was like she had separation anxiety, and she would make comments that she was worried about me or her dad dying.
“I have witnessed certain changes in her since this incident, she has changed in herself, she has been suffering with anxiety, she has become clingy, not wanting to be away from us as she thinks something bad will happen.”
Her daughter has since been referred to CAHMS for counselling and therapy.
Mother says her 13-year-old daughter is left 'extremely quiet'
A woman giving a statement on behalf of herself and her 13-year-old daughter, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she was now “anxious about being in crowded spaces and also fear when crossing roads or hearing the noise of a car horn”.
She said: “My daughter doesn’t really talk about the day and incident, and there are times where she is extremely quiet, she has a mentor at her school who she has started to open up to but keeps shutting herself down.”
Anne McHale, 70, said: “In the days that followed I could think of nothing else but that day.
“In the next couple of weeks, I didn’t speak to many people about the incident as I became very tearful if I spoke about it.”