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A former Royal Marine was a “man in a rage” as he drove into dozens of Liverpool football club supporters at a victory parade, in what many feared was a act of terrorism, a court has heard.

“The footage is truly shocking.”

Victims of Paul Doyle wept while video from the car’s camera depicted people being thrown into the air while he sped towards the gathering and shouted: “Fucking hell, move!”

The 54-year-old defendant is due to be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty on the first day of his trial last month to 31 criminal charges against 21 adults and eight children.

‘Consumed by Anger’

Prosecutors stated those in court that the footage from Doyle’s two-tonne Ford Galaxy proved to be “truly shocking”. The recording revealed the father of three shouting “expletives” as well as “move out of the way” as he drove towards a large crowd of supporters, with people frantically dragging children to safety as he blasted the horn.

It was stated in court that Doyle was a “individual whose anger whose anger had completely taken hold of him” as he continued driving into the mass of people, speeding up as people collided with his car.

Extent of the Injuries

In total, the former Royal Marine hurt 134 people in just seven minutes – including more than 50 who needed hospital treatment. A six-month-old boy was “remarkably” unharmed despite being left splayed on the road when Doyle’s car hit his pram, the court heard.

One fan, Simon Nash, was shown being thrown into the air by the car, sustaining a cut to the back of his head, broken ribs and numerous scrapes.

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

Celebration Descends into Chaos

Speaking to a full court, the prosecution said about 1 million people had attended “an event they believed to be a day of joyfulness” marking Liverpool winning their 20th league title. The celebratory atmosphere turned to “terror”, it was said, as Doyle drove into oncoming fans while trying to collect a companion who had been at the parade.

“Some at the scene believed the events unfolding was a terrorist attack.”

Brave Intervention Stops Driver

As bodies lay on the ground, the vehicle’s path was brought to a halt by a former soldier, a man identified in court, who entered the back of the car and forced the gearstick into park. Despite this, Doyle kept his foot on the accelerator, the court heard.

In his police interview, Doyle claimed he acted in a “blind panic” because he feared for his life. Yet, prosecutors contended that the video demonstrated Doyle “simply lost control in his desire to get to where he wanted to get to”. It was further stated: “Consumed by anger, he drove into the crowd and in doing so he intended to cause them serious harm.”

Dangerous Driving Prior to Incident

The video showed Doyle had been driving dangerously before he reached the city centre, overtaking cars dangerously and jumping red lights. He ignored traffic diversion measures and bypassed other cars, even emergency service vehicles, as he approached the packed streets.

Doyle is understood to be facing a prison sentence of over a decade at his sentencing hearing.