🔗 Share this article

A former Royal Marine was a “person consumed by fury” when he mowed down scores of LFC supporters during a championship celebration, an incident many initially feared to be a act of terrorism, according to court proceedings.

“The footage is truly shocking.”

Victims in the incident wept as video from the car’s camera showed bodies spinning through the air while he sped towards the gathering while screaming: “Fucking hell, move!”

The 54-year-old defendant will learn his fate on Tuesday following his guilty plea at the start of his trial last month to 31 criminal charges against 21 adults and eight children.

‘Consumed by Anger’

Prosecutors stated the court that the footage from Doyle’s two-tonne Ford Galaxy proved to be “extremely graphic”. The recording revealed the parent yelling “expletives” and “fucking move” as he drove towards hundreds of fans, with people frantically dragging children to safety as his car horn blared.

The court was told that Doyle was a “individual whose anger whose anger had completely taken hold of him” as he ploughed further into the crowd, accelerating while individuals were struck by his vehicle.

Scale of the Carnage

In total, the former Royal Marine injured 134 people in just seven minutes – including more than 50 who needed hospital treatment. An infant was “miraculously” unharmed even though he was left on the roadway when Doyle’s car hit his pram, according to testimony.

One fan, Simon Nash, was seen being launched into the air by the car, sustaining a laceration on his head, broken ribs and numerous scrapes.

The defendant was heard screaming “for God’s sake move! Get out my fucking way!” prior to driving deeper into screaming supporters, including an elderly woman and children who became trapped beneath the vehicle.

Celebration Descends into Chaos

Addressing a packed courtroom, lawyers said about 1 million people had attended “what they thought would be a joyous occasion” to celebrate Liverpool winning their 20th league title. The celebratory atmosphere turned to “terror”, it was said, as Doyle drove into oncoming fans as he attempted to pick up a friend who had been at the parade.

“Witnesses thought that what was taking place constituted a terrorist incident.”

Rampage Halted by Heroic Act

As bodies lay on the ground, the vehicle’s path was stopped by an ex-army member, a man identified in court, who climbed into a rear passenger seat and held the car’s gear selector in “park”. Even then, Doyle continued pressing the gas pedal, the court heard.

In his police interview, Doyle stated he reacted in a “blind panic” due to a fear for his safety. Yet, the prosecution argued that the dashcam footage showed Doyle “just lost his temper in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to”. It was further stated: “In a rage, he targeted the crowd and as he did so he intended to cause them serious harm.”

Dangerous Driving Prior to Incident

The video showed Doyle had been driving dangerously prior to entering downtown, overtaking cars dangerously and running red lights. He disregarded traffic diversion measures and weaved around other cars, even emergency service vehicles, as he approached the packed streets.

Doyle is understood to be facing a jail term of over a decade when he is sentenced on Tuesday.