Ex-Royal Marine Jailed for 21 Years After Deliberate “Mowing Down” of Liverpool Victory Fans
Liverpool, 26th May 2025 – A former Royal Marine was sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison today, 16th December, 2025, after driving his car into crowds celebrating Liverpool FC’s Premier League win, on 26th May, injuring 134 people in what the judge described as an act of, “inexplicable and undiluted fury”.
Paul Doyle, 54, from Croxteth, Liverpool, sobbed throughout his two-day sentencing hearing. Mr Justice Andrew Menary passed the custodial term, saying: “To drive a vehicle into crowds of pedestrians with such persistence and disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding”.
Doyle pleaded guilty last month to 31 offences, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, after his Ford Galaxy ploughed through well over 100 people on Water Street, on 26th May. Newly released dashcam and CCTV footage exposes the lie behind his claim that he, “panicked”, and drove off in fear for his life. Instead, the recordings show him aggressively accelerating, beeping his horn and hurling abuse at fans – at one point shouting, “it’s a f***ing road”, and calling supporters, “f***ing pr***s” – before intentionally mowing through the people in the crowd.
By the time his vehicle was brought to a halt, 29 victims — from six-month-old Teddy Eveson, whose pram was sent flying, to 77-year-old Susan Passey — lay injured. Among the injured were a terror-attack survivor, a cancer patient and a Ukrainian refugee. In total, 134 people required treatment for injuries ranging from fractures and lacerations to head trauma.
The carnage only ended when on-looking former soldier Daniel Barr, who had served tours in Iraq, climbed through the rear passenger door and forced the automatic gearstick into park. Barr told the court he held the lever even as Doyle kept revving the engine, eventually preventing any further movement.
Body-worn police video from the arresting officers captures Doyle saying, “my life’s ruined now”, as he sat in a custody van. Despite asserting in interviews that he had seen someone with a knife, investigators found no evidence of a weapon or any threat in the immediate vicinity.
Judge Menary rejected Doyle’s defence that he acted in self-defence or under extreme stress. The trial pointed to Doyle’s previous convictions for violence in the 1990s, including a 12-month jail term in 1994 for biting off a sailor’s ear during a drunken brawl, and the fact he was discharged from the Royal Marines for assault.
Doyle will serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody and will receive a three-year driving ban after his release. Victims had urged the court to impose a lifetime disqualification.
Meanwhile, Daniel Barr was hailed a hero by survivors and authorities alike for his decisive intervention that prevented further tragedy.
Paul Doyle, 54, from Croxteth, Liverpool, sobbed throughout his two-day sentencing hearing. Mr Justice Andrew Menary passed the custodial term, saying: “To drive a vehicle into crowds of pedestrians with such persistence and disregard for human life defies ordinary understanding”.
Doyle pleaded guilty last month to 31 offences, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, after his Ford Galaxy ploughed through well over 100 people on Water Street, on 26th May. Newly released dashcam and CCTV footage exposes the lie behind his claim that he, “panicked”, and drove off in fear for his life. Instead, the recordings show him aggressively accelerating, beeping his horn and hurling abuse at fans – at one point shouting, “it’s a f***ing road”, and calling supporters, “f***ing pr***s” – before intentionally mowing through the people in the crowd.
By the time his vehicle was brought to a halt, 29 victims — from six-month-old Teddy Eveson, whose pram was sent flying, to 77-year-old Susan Passey — lay injured. Among the injured were a terror-attack survivor, a cancer patient and a Ukrainian refugee. In total, 134 people required treatment for injuries ranging from fractures and lacerations to head trauma.
The carnage only ended when on-looking former soldier Daniel Barr, who had served tours in Iraq, climbed through the rear passenger door and forced the automatic gearstick into park. Barr told the court he held the lever even as Doyle kept revving the engine, eventually preventing any further movement.
Body-worn police video from the arresting officers captures Doyle saying, “my life’s ruined now”, as he sat in a custody van. Despite asserting in interviews that he had seen someone with a knife, investigators found no evidence of a weapon or any threat in the immediate vicinity.
Judge Menary rejected Doyle’s defence that he acted in self-defence or under extreme stress. The trial pointed to Doyle’s previous convictions for violence in the 1990s, including a 12-month jail term in 1994 for biting off a sailor’s ear during a drunken brawl, and the fact he was discharged from the Royal Marines for assault.
Doyle will serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody and will receive a three-year driving ban after his release. Victims had urged the court to impose a lifetime disqualification.
Meanwhile, Daniel Barr was hailed a hero by survivors and authorities alike for his decisive intervention that prevented further tragedy.
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