Driver who rammed through crowds at Liverpool’s victory parade sentenced to more than 20 years

A driver who injured more than 130 people when he rammed his car into a crowd of football fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League championship was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison on Tuesday.

Paul Doyle rammed his minivan through a sea of ​​fans on May 26, stopping after a bystander got into the vehicle and parked it. It came to a stop on top of bodies.

“The images are truly shocking,” Judge Andrew Menary said at Liverpool Crown Court. “It is difficult, if not impossible, to convey in words alone the scenes of devastation you have caused. It shows how you purposefully invade groups of fans time and time again.”

Doyle cried during the two-day sentencing as prosecutors described the crime in detail, using graphic video footage and reading emotional statements from dozens of victims.

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Doyle, 54, pleaded guilty last month to 31 charges, including dangerous driving and multiple charges of attempting or causing grievous bodily harm and wounding with intent.

Prosecutors said Doyle used his vehicle as a weapon to ram through the sea of ​​people walking toward him after the victory parade.

People seeking safety said they feared a terror attack was underway.

But the explanation was «as simple as the consequences were dire,» prosecutor Paul Greaney said. Doyle became enraged because he could not get where he wanted to go fast enough to pick up a family friend who had attended the parade.

“He was a man in a rage, whose anger had completely taken hold of him,” Greaney said.

The judge rejected Doyle’s statement that he had panicked as «demonstrably untrue.»

As Doyle was placed in a police van, he said: «I’ve just ruined my family’s lives,» Greaney said.

The impact was much broader.

A prosecutor spent hours reading statements from the victims, some of whom still suffered injuries.

A 16-year-old boy who was kept awake by nightmares lost his woodworking apprenticeship because he couldn’t concentrate. A 23-year-old man had to learn to walk again. A woman who is not from the area said the Liverpudlian accent now causes fear. A woman whose daughter was a die-hard Liverpool fan was no longer able to watch the matches.

“The sight of red shirts and the sounds of chants are unbearable memories of that day,” Susan Farrell said.

Published on December 16, 2025