The 53-year-old man arrested by police over the Liverpool parade ramming has today been charged with seven offences including multiple counts of grievous bodily harm.
Paul Doyle, from West Derby on Merseyside, has been charged with one count of dangerous driving alongside two counts each of causing GBH with intent, wounding with intent to cause GBH and attempting to cause GBH with intent.
The former Royal Marine commando is married with three teenage children and lives in a smart £300,000, four-bedroomed detached property on a neat estate.
He has been remanded in custody and will appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.
Mr Doyle was arrested after a Ford Galaxy people carrier ploughed through a crowd of fans in the city centre, leaving some 79 people injured, with 50 needing hospital treatment.
The youngest victim was just nine and the eldest 78 – with all victims believed to be British – it emerged today.
Police believe the car tailgated an ambulance racing to a heart attack victim before unleashing horror at the end of the Premier League champions’ open-topped bus celebrations.
Seven people remain in hospital but are said to be recovering. Several children were injured in the carnage.
Paul Doyle, 53, has been charged over the ‘horrific’ carnage at Liverpool’s Premier League victory parade
The middle-class company director is married with three teenage children and lives in a smart £300,000, four-bedroomed detached property on a neat estate
Pictured: The man who was driving the car in Liverpool
Merseyside Police assistant chief constable Jenny Sims told a press conference today: ‘As always, our thoughts remain with all of those injured and affected by this appalling incident, which took place during the Liverpool Football Club parade on Monday.
‘As you have heard from our CPS colleagues, the man arrested by Merseyside Police following the incident on Water Street has now been charged with seven serious offences.
‘I fully understand how this incident has left us all shocked and saddened, and I know many will continue to have concerns and questions.
‘Our detectives are working tirelessly, with diligence and professionalism to seek the answer to all of those questions. When we are able to we will provide further information.’
Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Mersey-Cheshire Sarah Hammond said the investigation was still ‘at an early stage’.
‘Prosecutors and police are continuing to work at pace to review a huge volume of evidence,’ she said.
‘This includes multiple pieces of video footage and numerous witness statements. It is important to ensure that every victim gets the justice they deserve.
‘The charges will be kept under review as the investigation progresses.’
Ms Hammond warned criminal proceedings against the defendant are active and he has the right to a fair trial and said there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information or media online which could in any way prejudice the proceedings.
She said: ‘Please allow the legal process to take its course without undue speculation.’
When police arrived at Mr Doyle’s home soon after the horror, neighbours assumed the family had been victims of a burglary.
‘It’s completely out of character,’ one said. ‘They are a nice family, the boys are well behaved. He is a fantastic guy.
‘He came over to help us once when our alarm went off. I know he did the same for our immediate neighbours, too.
‘The family is lovely. The whole thing is so sad – for his wife and children and for all those people who were hurt and injured.’
Another local added that he was a ‘nice guy’ and a ‘family man’. A family friend said it was ‘not the man we know’.
According to his LinkedIn, Mr Doyle served with the marines as a commando in the 1990s before reading psychology and maths at a Russell Group university.
Neighbours described Mr Doyle as a ‘family man’ with ‘well-behaved’ children
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Distressing footage captured the moment that the people carrier struck fans gathering for the parade
The driver was swiftly detained by police
The keen runner has since held various management positions as a network security consultant, including one for several years at an NHS Trust, while company records show that he previously ran a number of businesses. He now works in cyber security.
According to social media, the sports enthusiast attended a local university and his wife of 20 years has also regularly posted happy pictures of the family enjoying holidays abroad, including to Disneyland.
One friend said: ‘It is weird for me as a friend because I’ve seen the video and all the comments. Then I’ve heard the other side and it puts a completely different perspective on what happened.’
The friend claimed the driver’s wife, who is a Sunday school teacher, and children had since left the £300,000 family home, on a smart estate in West Derby, a suburb in the city.
Today a mechanic who serviced the Ford Galaxy involved in the attack also said he was shocked when he saw the vehicle on the television news.
Steven, who asked for his surname not to be disclosed, said: ‘I saw the pictures on the telly and just went ‘Oh my God’ I know that car.
‘I had serviced it three months ago and there were no problems with it and I took it to the garage for an MOT certificate.
‘The bloke who came round was with his wife and eldest kid, he was very proud of his car, it was his pride and joy, and he kept it immaculate.
‘I work with cars, and you get a feel for them when you look inside, it tells you a lot about a person and his was immaculate.
‘What I also remember is that he had a picture of his wife and kids on the dashboard as well, and I could sense this guy was a family man.
‘I saw the footage about two hours after it all happened and recognised it immediately, and I recognised him as well and I thought ‘Oh wow, what was he thinking’.
Jack Trotter (above) had travelled from his home in Newtownards, Northern Ireland, with his girlfriend, Abbie Gallagher
Yesterday, two police vans were parked outside the family home. There was no answer at the well-kept property in a quiet cul-de-sac in the suburb of West Derby, north-east of the city centre.
Liverpool had paraded their Premier League trophy along the waterfront, in front of the city’s famous Royal Liver building, just moments earlier and thousands of supporters were making their way home, to train stations or to bars to continue the celebrations.
A flat-bed truck, which was being used to cordon off the street, had been moved by private contractors to let the emergency services through, police revealed.
Shocking video footage posted online shows supporters banging on the car’s windows before it accelerated and hit fans at speed, causing several to be catapulted off the bonnet and leaving four trapped under its wheels.
Officers were on the scene within seconds.
The incident is not being treated as terrorism, officers have confirmed.
Among those injured was Daniel Eveson, who saw his five-month-old son’s buggy dragged 15ft in the carnage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper visits the scene on Water Street in Liverpool
Forensic officers at the scene of the incident in Liverpool city centre
Mr Eveson, 36, from Telford, Shropshire, said it was nothing ‘short of a miracle’ that the family all survived unscathed.
Referring to his son, Ted, he said: ‘He’s our miracle. He’s ‘Super Ted’. I keep crying every time I hold him. I can’t believe we’ve still got him.’ His fiancée, Sheree Aldridge, also 36, is recovering after the car ran over her leg.’
He told The Mirror: ‘I held the pram but it was taken out of my hands and my hands went on the bonnet to try and stop the car. Then Sheree went up on the bonnet, dropped off and then went under the car.’
