Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

The prosecution describes how in the moment when Doyle’s car paused, a man called Daniel Barr managed to climb into the rear passenger seat before it accelerated forward again.

He said Mr Barr had been enjoying the parade when he suddenly noticed that the crowd’s attitude changed from “joyful to desperate”.

Mr Greaney said: “[Barr] saw the Galaxy weaving and hitting people, who were sent flying into the air.

“All of a sudden, the vehicle stopped right beside him. Daniel Barr instinctively pulled open the rear passenger-side door and climbed in. He did so with the intention of stopping the driver.

“As the car set off again, he leaned forward and moved the gear selector into “park”. He held it there as hard as he could. The Galaxy did not stop immediately, but in the end it did.

"However, Daniel Barr describes how even after he had brought the vehicle to a halt, the defendant continued to keep his foot on the accelerator.

“That proposition is supported by other witnesses too.”

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Warning: This update contains graphic details of the incident

Prosecutor Paul Greaney has been describing how Paul Doyle pressed on, “causing more and more injury”.

More dashcam is played, with a circle highlighting one victim, a woman in a red coat, who can be seen screaming in fear and pain as she is thrown onto the bonnet and then backwards on to the road.

Anna Bilonozhenko required surgery for a serious fracture of her right knee.

Others around her included a 13-year-old boy and a paramedic James Vernon, who was on his bicycle leading an ambulance through the crowd to where a member of the public was thought to be suffering a heart attack.

A few moments later, Simon Nash was struck at considerable speed and thrown some distance from the vehicle.

He sustained a laceration to the back of his head, rib fractures and multiple abrasions.

Mr Greaney says: “Paul Doyle then drove the vehicle sharply to the right, away from an area of road that was relatively free of people and into an area that was particularly densely populated with fans. The Galaxy struck a number of pedestrians at this stage. One of those struck was a woman named Sheree Aldridge.

"She suffered extensive bruising and abrasions to both legs; a scan revealed a [severe] injury to her left thigh - an injury that stripped the top layers of skin and tissue from the underlying muscle - and she required extensive medical treatment to drain fluid from the injury site.

“Sheree Aldridge had been pushing a pram containing her young son aged nearly six months, Teddy Eveson.

"The pram was struck and thrown, but mercifully Teddy was, as we have said, uninjured.”

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Prosecutor Paul Greaney is showing where individual victims named in the charges were struck by Paul Doyle's car.

He says: “The defendant paused momentarily.

“What the defendant had done to that point in time was dreadful and criminal, and this was the time to stop.

“In an interview with the police the following day, the defendant was to suggest that he stopped as soon as he realised he had hit someone. That was untrue. At this point, he had driven his vehicle into many people, but he pushed on regardless, caring nothing for those he had run over and those he was to run over.

“In his rage, the prosecution submits, the defendant cared only to satisfy his own wish to get through the crowd.”

He says one of the younger victims, a 10-year-old girl, was struck in the moments after that short pause.

Mr Greaney says this is “one of the most shocking” features of the case.

The dashcam footage shows how her father tried to push her out of the way but was too late.

After she was struck, Doyle could be heard shouting “[Expletive] move.”

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

More mobile phone footage is played showing the scenes of sheer distress in the aftermath of the collision.

Prosecutor Mr Greaney sums up the footage that has been shown, telling Liverpool Crown Court: “Before he accelerated left and into the crowd, the defendant abused the fans in the road, shouting things like, “get off the [expletive] road…

“The Galaxy was an automatic. Having remained stationary for a short period, Paul Doyle deliberately put the vehicle into reverse and moved back sharply into the crowd behind, causing one member of the public to punch the vehicle and another to kick it.

“He then pulled forwards before reversing sharply again into the man that was kicking the vehicle.

“He was using the Galaxy as a weapon.”

The court heard one man shattered a window in the car and a camping chair was thrown through the void.

“It is obvious that the crowd sensed that something dreadful was unfolding,” says Mr Greaney.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Prosecutor Paul Greaney has been playing further clips of footage from CCTV cameras and mobile phones of the “most serious” part of the case.

He described Doyle, who again cries as the video is played, as a “man out of control”.

Mr Greaney highlights a moment when the pram carrying the youngest victim, six-month-old Teddy Eveson, is struck.

There are gasps in court as the 15-second CCTV clip is played. We are told Teddy's mum is at the court.

Mr Greaney said, Teddy "remarkably" escaped injury.

The judge, Andrew Menary KC, lifted reporting restrictions preventing the media from publishing the baby's name. He said his parents, who had given interviews to the media, had agreed for their son to be identified.

Mairead Smyth
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Warning: This post contains graphic details of the incident

The court is being shown more shocking footage.

We can hear the screams of people as Paul Doyle drives into and through a crowd of people, telling them to move.

We see people being hit by the bonnet of the car. Doyle reverses and then drives forward again.

CCTV gathered from the area is now being shown and it is clear to see Doyle leaving the queue of cars and choosing to drive through the crowds on Dale Street.

The court is shown mobile phone footage that shows people trying to stop the car, including by punching it.

We see someone open the door. Doyle pulls it closed and drives on.

Footage is then shown of Doyle hitting baby Teddy Eveson's pram.

The pram can be seen in the footage, lying on its side in the road.

Mr Greaney tells the court that Teddy's mum is watching proceedings in court.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Mr Greaney has described how over the next few seconds, people on the road began to bang on the roof of Doyle's vehicle.

He said: "The prosecution regards that as unsurprising given what the defendant was doing, namely driving a 1.9 tonne vehicle into a crowd, rather than waiting in line with the other traffic."

Doyle then began blasting his horn, causing further fear in the crowd.

"Adults jumped out of his way. Parents dragged their children from his path," prosecutor Mr Greaney said.

"The defendant shouted [expletives] a number of times.

"He had completely lost his temper."

Mr Greaney said this section of the case is reflected in Count 2, the charge of affray, which involves "using or threatening unlawful violence".

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Mr Greaney has been describing the moment at 17:58 BST when Doyle drove towards an unidentified man with ginger hair who was walking with a child.

He said the man appeared to become concerned that Doyle posed a threat to his son.

The prosecutor said: "It appears that in order to protect his child, he placed his right foot on the bumper of the Galaxy as he manoeuvred the child out of the way.

"The man pointed his finger at the defendant, who shouted, "it's a '[expletive] road".

"The prosecution case is that Paul Doyle was starting to lose his temper at this stage, even if he had not already lost it."

Mr Greaney said this was important as it showed clearly that Doyle had already lost his temper.

When interviewed the defendant made "all sorts of claims" about the conduct of the red-haired man.

He said "any sensible analysis" showed those claims were false.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Prosecutor Mr Greaney said Doyle's vehicle arrived on Dale Street at 17:54 BST.

More dashcam footage is played showing Doyle following a bus along the road as pedestrians stream around him.

It is clear Doyle is getting increasingly frustrated.

He can be seen to pass through a red light and is faced by a steady, dense stream of pedestrians.

The beep of his parking warning indicators are audible as people pass by the car.

He suddenly shouts "Get off the [expletive] road!"

The road gets more crowded the further Doyle drives.

Suddenly he accelerates forward as bangs can be heard on the roof and sides of the vehicle.

He shouts further expletives and is met by cars turning right onto Exchange Street East.

Mr Greaney tells the court: "The strong sense from the dashcam footage is that the defendant regarded himself as the most important person on Dale Street, and considered that everyone else needed to get out of his way so that he could get to where he wanted to get to."

Mairead Smyth
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

The court is shown more dashcam footage - this time showing Paul Doyle making his way onto Dale Street in Liverpool city centre at about 17:54 BST. We hear him ask his car's interactive audio system for the time.

We are watching dashcam footage as Doyle drives along Dale Street.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond - from Rihanna's hit Diamonds - is playing on the stereo as Doyle asks to "call Dave Clark" - it goes to answerphone as Doyle is stuck in traffic.

Car sensors are audible as the volume of people walking towards his vehicle increases.

People are now moving to avoid his car - he begins to accelerate and sound his horn.

We hear him swear at them while beeping his horn.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Greaney said after dropping his friends off in the city centre, Doyle drove "markedly more aggressively" on the way home, undertaking other vehicles and running a red light.

He arrived home at 13:35 BST.

After texts between Doyle and Dave Clark, it was agreed that Doyle would come and pick his friend up again.

He left his home in Croxteth at 17:29. He drove aggressively back into the city centre.

The court has seen dashcam footage of Doyle speeding along residential roads on his way into Liverpool, clearly running a red light and undertaking other cars. Music can be heard on the radio.

Greaney said: "This conduct is far from the most culpable that the defendant engaged in that day, but it forms part of Count 1 - dangerous driving - and demonstrates that the safety of others was far from the priority of Paul Doyle even at that early stage."

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Mr Greaney has been describing Paul Doyle's first journey into Liverpool city centre from his home in Croxteth, a journey of about 20 minutes.

The court has heard Doyle had agreed to give his friend Dave Clark and his family a lift into the city centre to watch the parade.

"That the defendant was initially motivated that day by kindness only serves to make what he did later the more staggering," Mr Greaney said.

Mr Clark and his family arrived at Doyle's home at 12.34 BST, and the group departed at 12.41.

Greaney said Doyle and his friend "spoke about house prices and schools, about football and about cars, about their common work in IT and about films and family matters".

He added: "The journey was perfectly ordinary, even mundane."

Greaney said dashcam footage from that journey, which showed Doyle driving calmly, demonstrated he was well aware of the traffic management measures that were in place on that stretch of road.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Prosecutor Mr Greaney has shown the court a picture of Doyle's vehicle.

He explains that experts examined the car and found there was no evidence of any significant defect which could have impacted Doyle's ability to control it.

"Where this leaves us is that nothing which occurred can be explained to any extent on the basis of immaturity of age, inexperience in driving generally, unfamiliarity with the vehicle or any defect with the Galaxy.

"Furthermore, the footage demonstrates that the defendant was conscious throughout, so a medical explanation can be discounted.

"The upshot of all of that is, as the defendant has now accepted, that he did what he did intentionally."

Mairead Smyth
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Doyle cries and has his head bowed in the dock as he watches the video.

Others here at Liverpool Crown Court are looking at the screen in shock.

A young woman has begun to cry.

The footage is truly shocking as we hear Paul Doyle telling people to "move - move out of the [expletive] way!"

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Warning: This update contains graphic description

The prosecution has just played, on courtroom TV screens, a truly astonishing piece of video footage from the dashboard camera in Paul Doyle's Ford Galaxy.

It begins as Doyle drives down Dale Street towards Water Street. Immediately, it is obvious how crowded the road was.

As Doyle progresses down the road, pedestrians can be seen starting to jump out of the way. One man is seen pulling his children to safety.

What happens next is difficult to watch, and people in court are visibly emotional.

As Doyle screams expletives and repeats "move out of the road", men, women, and children are mown down, the thuds of them bouncing off the bonnet and the windscreen clearly audible.

The panic is clearly visible in their faces, and some are dragged under the wheel.

After just over a minute, the car stops, and the furious crowd swarm around the vehicle.

This is when the footage ends.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Greaney tells the court Doyle did not have any drugs or alcohol in his system at the time.

He was also, the prosecution are satisfied, not driven by any terrorist or other kind of ideology.

Greaney said: "Paul Doyle claimed when subsequently interviewed by the police that he acted as he did in a blind panic and in fear of his life because of how some in the crowd had behaved towards him.

"The position of the prosecution is that this account given by the defendant to the investigators was untrue.

"The truth is a simple one. Paul Doyle just lost his temper in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to. In a rage, he drove into the crowd.

"When he did so, he intended to cause people within the crowd serious harm. He was prepared to cause those in the crowd, even children, serious harm if necessary to achieve his aim of getting through.

"The truth is as simple as the consequences were awful."

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Prosecutor Paul Greaney KC added: "By 6.01 pm, less than two minutes later, the Galaxy was stationary on Water Street and attempts were being made by fans to drag Paul Doyle from it. He was quickly protected by police officers, and thereafter arrested and detained, having sustained only minor injuries.

"What had happened in that short period between 5.59 pm and 6.01 pm is that the defendant had driven his vehicle into a collision with well over 100 people, causing injuries including serious injuries to many and, when the vehicle was brought to a halt, people including children were trapped beneath it.

"The prosecution case is that the defendant had used the vehicle as a weapon over that period of time. In doing so, he not only caused injury on a large scale, but also generated horror in those who had attended what they had thought would be a day of joyfulness."

Mairead Smyth
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

The prosecution say Paul Doyle used his car as a weapon.

In doing so, he not only caused injury on a large scale, but also generated horror in those who had attended what they had thought would be a day of joyfulness.

Was Paul Doyle drunk or high on drugs? Again, the prosecution is able to give a definitive answer to that question.

He was not - at the time that he drove into and over 100 people, Doyle was completely sober and free of all drugs.

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Greaney said the bus arrived in the city centre at about 17:40 BST.

Afterwards, thousands of fans headed back to the city centre along Water Street.

Doyle had driven into the city to pick up friends from the parade in a Ford Galaxy Titanium weighing about two tonnes, heading onto Dale Street which leads onto Water Street shortly before 18:00.

Greaney said: "From an early stage, Paul Doyle drove dangerously along that road, frightening people as he did so.

"Then at 5.59 pm, he encountered some traffic implementation measures that were filtering vehicles off to the right. He came to halt, but shortly afterwards set off down the left side of Dale Street towards Water Street."

Jonny Humphries
Reporting from Liverpool Crown Court

Judge Menary has taken his seat in court and we are ready to begin.

Paul Doyle, who appears to be sobbing, has been led into the dock and is asked to confirm his name. He nods his head.

Paul Greaney KC will start by outlining the prosecution case, which was accepted by Doyle with his guilty pleas last month.

Mr Greaney begins by outlining the background to the parade on Bank Holiday Monday 26 May.

Liverpool FC's 2024/25 Premier League title win was being celebrated with an open-top bus tour featuring the men's first team squad.

The bus left Allerton Maze in South Liverpool at about 14:30 BST, and was finishing in the city centre about three hours later.

Greaney said: "Hundreds of thousands of people, probably in fact about a million in total, attended to watch and cheer.

"To begin with, this was a day of great joy."