Man jailed for driving his car into Liverpool FC’s victory parade crowds
A man who drove his car into the crowd at Liverpool FC’s victory parade on 26 May 2025, injuring 134 people, has been jailed for 21 years and six months.
The Judge sentencing Doyle at Liverpool Crown Court was shown distressing dashcam footage from Doyle’s Ford Galaxy.
Doyle was speeding, undertaking cars, and going through red lights before he reached the crowds in Liverpool city centre. Doyle who was on his way to collect friends from the parade, became caught up in the crowds of celebrating fans.
Instead of stopping his car, he used it as a weapon to drive at people to try and force his way through. As people screamed and tried to get out of the way, Doyle shouted abuse at them as he drove on. His actions caused chaos and terror.
Dashcam and CCTV footage showed people being thrown up against the windscreen of Doyle’s car, and into the air. Two infants, aged six and seven months at the time, were among those who were struck by Doyle’s car.
Eventually, ex-soldier Daniel Barr, who had been part of the crowd, managed to get into the back of Doyle’s car and placed the vehicle into park mode. He then held onto to the gear stick to try and get Doyle to stop.
His actions and the fact there were people trapped underneath the car, finally brought the car to a stop.
Police managed to detain Doyle, and he was arrested. He was heard to say in the immediate aftermath, “I have ruined all of my family’s lives”
During the investigation, Merseyside Police gathered hundreds of hours of CCTV and mobile phone footage and interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses.
The Crown Prosecution Service authorised 31 charges against Doyle:
1 x Dangerous Driving
9 x Causing Grievous Bodily Harm with Intent
17 x Attempting to Cause Grievous Bodily Harm
3 x Wounding with Intent
1 x Affray
Doyle pleaded Not Guilty to all the counts, and the case proceeded to trial. On the second day of the trial, he changed his plea to guilty.
After a two-day sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court, today (16 December 2025) he was sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison. He has been disqualified from driving for a period that includes three years after his possible release date from prison.
The CPS read out in open court extracts of statements from 78 victims, detailing the physical, psychological and financial impact upon them and their families.
Specialist Prosecutor, James Allison of CPS Mersey-Cheshire said: "On 26 May 2025, Paul Doyle drove a car, that weighed almost two tonnes into crowds of people celebrating Liverpool Football Club having won the Premier League.
"In seven minutes of dangerous driving, Doyle, a middle-aged, family man, used that vehicle as a weapon hitting more than one hundred people, including children, babies and the elderly. When it eventually ended, he had trapped some of them underneath his vehicle.
"He not only injured many people, but he also generated horror and chaos on what was meant to be a day of celebration and joyfulness.
"The reason why he did it? The truth is as simple as it is awful, Paul Doyle lost his temper and, in a rage, drove into people, intending to cause them serious harm.
"The dashcam footage of his journey into Liverpool city centre that day, is truly shocking.
"Before he got to the city centre, he was driving aggressively, undertaking other cars and driving through red lights. As we now know, it was to get much worse.
"He did not even stop when he knew there were people trapped under his car. He continued revving his engine to try and continue forward.
"His car finally came to a stop because of the actions of one man - Daniel Barr. A man who can truly be described as a hero.
"Mr Barr got into the back of Paul Doyle’s car. He did not know what he was facing when he did, but he knew he had to stop him. To do so, he put the controls of the automatic car into “park” and held onto it. Because of this it eventually came to a stop. This no doubt prevented many more injuries, even possibly fatalities.
"The Crown Prosecution Service would like to thank Mr Barr for what he did on that day. When he got into Paul Doyle’s car he had no thought for his own safety. He just knew he had to do something.
"The CPS would also like to thank
- All the emergency services who responded
- All those who assisted the injured
- Members of the public who assisted the police by providing invaluable evidence
- Merseyside Police for their investigation
"We have watched a huge amount of CCTV, mobile phone and other footage to build the strongest case possible. And in the end , Mr Doyle had no choice but to plead guilty to all 31 charges he faced.
"Our thoughts of course, remain with the victims and witnesses from that day, which turned from joy and celebration to horror in just seven minutes."