Paul Doyle jailed for more than 21 years after ploughing car into Liverpool parade crowd

Paul Doyle, who rammed his car into crowds of people at a Liverpool parade, has been jailed for more than 21 years - this is a breaking story

Liverpool parade crash driver Paul Doyle has been jailed for 21 and a half years.

Doyle, 54, who injured more than 130 people after ploughing his car into a large crowd at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade on May 26, previously pleaded guilty to all 31 charges after tearfully changing his plea on the second day of his trial.

In late November, Doyle admitted to dangerous driving, affray, 17 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, nine counts of causing GBH with intent and three counts of wounding with intent. His charges relate to 29 people aged between six months and 77 years.

Distressing dashcam footage played to Liverpool Crown Court showed Doyle driving into a pram carrying a baby and causing it to overturn. In another clip, Doyle is seen continuing to drive forward when a woman appears trapped under the front of his car. The footage left people in the courtroom in tears as Doyle bowed his head and was sobbing in the dock.

Further footage, which will not be released due to its graphic nature, showed a man landing on the windscreen with a crash, people on the bonnet and others - including children - beneath the vehicle. Doyle sobbed as the prosecution described how he completely lost his temper and used his car "as a weapon".

Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, said: "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."

The youngest victim was six-month-old Teddy Eveson, whose parents said he was thrown about 15ft down the road in his pram during the attack. The eldest victim was 77-year-old Susan Passey, who was trapped under the wheels of Doyle's car and spent 27 nights in hospital.

In witness impact statements, the court heard a 29-year-old mum describe how she thought her six-month-old baby - not Teddy - had been killed. "I have been diagnosed with PTSD and suffer persistent symptoms that affect my day-to-day functioning," Emily Wright wrote in her statement. "I relive the moment of the collision repeatedly, especially the terrifying image of my pram being struck and taken by the car, with my six-month-old baby inside. The horror of not knowing whether he was alive or dead in that instant will haunt me forever." Ms Wright suffered a crushed foot in the attack.

The court heard that another victim, David Price, 44, had narrowly survived metastatic stage 3C testicular cancer before the attack. "This trauma has taken me to a darker place than even my cancer battle did," his statement read.

Mr Price added: "In the seconds before impact, I remember the terrifying realisation that I might not survive. I feared my children were about to lose their father, my wife would lose her husband, and my mother would lose her son. The horror of that moment is something I will never forget."

The court also heard that Susan Passey, 77, fears she may never be able to walk again without a stick. "I felt embarrassed and apologised to the nurses looking after me because I was unable to get to the toilet and had to use a commode. It was an extremely distressing and undignified time for me as a 77-year-old lady," her statement read. "I feel hurt my life will never be the same again, through no fault of my own. My son Ian witnessed the incident first-hand and saw me underneath the car, he thought I was dead, I worry a great deal about the impact that has had on him."