Liverpool parade car attack: driver jailed for 21-and-a-half years

LONDON: A British man who injured more than 130 people by driving his car into crowds of Liverpool football fans during the city’s Premier League title victory parade in May has been sentenced to 21-and-a-half years in prison.

Paul Doyle deliberately ploughed his vehicle into jubilant supporters, including women and children, after losing his temper, prosecutors told the court.

The 54-year-old last month pleaded guilty to 31 criminal charges, including nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and 17 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, on what would have been the first day of his trial.

Prosecutor Paul Greaney said Doyle was “a man in a rage” whose anger had taken complete control when he drove at fans, injuring 134 people, including eight children. He said the incident not only caused injuries on a large scale but also spread fear and horror among people who had gathered for what was meant to be a day of celebration.

Doyle’s lawyer, Simon Csoka, told the court the defendant was “horrified” by his actions and was remorseful, ashamed and deeply sorry for those who were hurt.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Judge Andrew Menary said it was almost impossible to comprehend how a “right-thinking person” could act in such a manner. He said deliberately driving a vehicle into crowds of pedestrians with such persistence and disregard for human life defied ordinary understanding.

The court was told that around one million people had turned out to celebrate Liverpool’s 20th English league title, watching an open-top bus parade carrying the team and Premier League trophy.

Prosecutors said Doyle drove into the city centre to collect friends who had attended the parade and, within the space of 77 seconds, ploughed into crowds shortly before 6 p.m., shouting, swearing and repeatedly sounding his horn as he struck pedestrians.

One of the victims, Anna Bilonozhenko, who moved to Britain from Ukraine in 2024, was hit by Doyle’s Ford Galaxy and required surgery for a fractured knee. In a statement read to the court, she said her sense of safety had been taken away once again after fleeing war in her homeland.

Other victims described lasting physical and psychological trauma, saying the incident had left them unable to work, care for their families, visit crowded places or even watch Liverpool football matches.