IT consultant Paul Doyle, 54, shocked Liverpool Crown Court when he pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including 17 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm
The man who drove into fans celebrating at Liverpool’s trophy parade is reportedly “likely” to be sent to a secure hospital rather than prison. Paul Doyle surprised the court when he pleaded guilty before the opening speeches of his trial on Tuesday.
The 54-year-old of Croxteth, Liverpool, took off his glasses, bowed his head and sobbed as he pleaded guilty to a number of charges put to him after being rearraigned at Liverpool Crown Court. He admitted driving his car into throngs of supporters during Liverpool FC’s Premier League title celebrations in the heart of Liverpool city centre.
More than 100 pedestrians, including children and a 77-year-old woman, were injured after being hit by a Ford Galaxy on Water Street just after 6pm on May 26 this year, with 50 individuals needing hospital care.
He pleaded guilty to charges including 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.
Judge Andrew Menary told Doyle he faces an “inevitable custodial sentence of some length” when he is due back in court next month.
But a source told the Sun that psychologists who examined Doyle at Wakefield Prison concluded he is “likely to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder”.
They said: “That means he’s pretty likely to be moved to a secure hospital unit once he’s sentenced. His life there would be much more comfortable than in prison as he’d be treated as a patient, not an inmate.
“He’d be held in better conditions, plus he’d get more therapy and help getting his life back on track. A lot of prisoners try to play the mental health card, but with Doyle his PTSD was diagnosed pretty quickly and it seems genuine.”
Doyle was reportedly moved from Wakefield Prison as his trial neared and is being treated as a Category A inmate and is checked around the clock by guards.
The source added: “A lot of inmates, especially at northern prisons, will have had friends or relatives at the parade so it’s not hard to see why he might be targeted.”
A Prison Service spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individuals.”
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