Paul Doyle’s victims say ‘best day ever’ turned into horror at Liverpool parade: Live

Another one of the victims was Simon Nash, aged 53, who got separated from his wife and son when he was hit by Doyle’s car.

He suffered rib fractures and a head injury that left him “dazed and frightened”, the court hears.

In his statement, he said: “I often replay the moments in my mind – the sound, the shock and fear. I feel a loss of confidence and safety in situations that never used to bother me.

“Every time I see a Ford Galaxy, the incident replays in my mind.”

His injuries meant he took time off work and no longer plays football.

He added: “The day could have ended a lot differently. I feel lucky to still be here.”

Paul Doyle put his head down and sobbed as the court heard a statement from one woman whose 13-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter were injured in the crash.

She said their mental health, and that of her husband who was also there, had been affected.

She said: “This has placed significant strain on our daily lives, routines and our ability to work and function as a family unit.”

Cycle response paramedic James Vernon, who was on duty in the city centre on the day, said in his statement: “We are trained and well-rehearsed on how to respond to terrorist incidents, but nothing prepares you for the terror that I felt in that split second, the fear was immeasurable.”

He added: “Never in my life have I heard or seen my dad cry. I recall sitting in Mowgli on Water Street, which was a makeshift ward for all those injured, when I spoke to my dad on the phone. Hearing his voice break completely broke me, I burst into tears.”

Alan Spain, 26, has said that the attack will “always be on my mind for the rest of my life”, and that every time he watches Liverpool, he returns to the terror of 26 May.

“What I am saying is that one of my favourite pastimes, ever since I started doing it at the age of 6 with my dad and my younger brother, watching Liverpool play has been tainted,” he said.

“Every time I watch them, I end up on Water Street. Every time I see the Liverpool jersey I was wearing that day, in my wardrobe, I end up on Water Street. Every time Liverpool score and I see the fans in the Kop jump and cheer and celebrate, I end up on Water Street. Because that’s what the crowd were doing.

“Everyone was cheering and celebrating, and everyone was in a joyous mood. Everyone was there to have fun. And that was ruined. The same way that I feel as I sit down to watch Liverpool play, now is a little bit ruined.”

In a victim impact statement read by prosecution junior counsel Phil Astbury, Anna Bilonozhenko, 43, who came to England in 2024 to escape the war in Ukraine, said she thought spending the day at the parade with her 22-year-old daughter Sasha would “lift our spirits”.

Instead, she was left with an injury that required metal plates to be inserted into her leg.

She said: “We came to this country because of the war in our homeland, hoping to finally feel safe. At first, we did. But now that feeling has been taken away. Realising that is deeply painful – it feels like losing our safety all over again.”

Diamanti Nikiforaki, 53, said: “Even now I remain deeply affected. I can no longer walk in the middle of pedestrianised areas. I am constantly hyper-vigilant and cautious, scanning my surroundings. I experience anticipatory anxiety and find it difficult to relax.”

A 41-year-old man said the incident was “the worst experience of my life” and had made his job as a driver “scary”.

Jeremy Pentecost’s victim impact statement read: “Work affected my mental health, driving around all day on my own – at first I was seeing bodies flying here, there and everywhere, unable to stop thinking about the events of the day.”

Ian Moody, 63, said he suffered “intense” physical pain from his injuries and now found himself “feeling very down and emotional over silly things”.

Mr Moody’s wife Tracey Moody, 60, said she has nightmares about the experience.

“My love is Liverpool Football Club, and I am finding it very difficult to go there,” her statement read.

The couple’s son Scott Moody, 26, said: “Psychologically I have been struggling since this day, I have frequent flashbacks when trying to sleep as I can see Water Street while I have my eyes shut, and I can see the chaos that was around me after the incident.”

A mother has spoken of the impact on her 11-year-old daughter, who cannot be identified, stating that she has been left “panicky” and has formed “irrational fears” as a result.

She said: “This incident has affected her psychologically. When this first happened, she was struggling to sleep, this has gone on for months now, she was struggling to sleep through the night and would want me to sleep in her bed with her, it was like she had separation anxiety, and she would make comments that she was worried about me or her dad dying.

“I have witnessed certain changes in her since this incident, she has changed in herself, she has been suffering with anxiety, she has become clingy, not wanting to be away from us as she thinks something bad will happen.”

Her daughter has since been referred to CAHMS for counselling and therapy.

A woman giving a statement on behalf of herself and her 13-year-old daughter, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she was now “anxious about being in crowded spaces and also fear when crossing roads or hearing the noise of a car horn”.

She said: “My daughter doesn’t really talk about the day and incident, and there are times where she is extremely quiet, she has a mentor at her school who she has started to open up to but keeps shutting herself down.”

Anne McHale, 70, said: “In the days that followed I could think of nothing else but that day.

“In the next couple of weeks, I didn’t speak to many people about the incident as I became very tearful if I spoke about it.”

Continuing to read through the victim impact statements, one 16-year-old victim said he has been left feeling “scared, angry and sad”.

“The incident has taken away what should have been one of the happiest days of my life that I could have talked about for years. My family and friends were terrified at the time, and since the incident they have struggled to help me and for them to understand what I am going through,” he said.

Amanda Gardener, 52, said that while her physical injuries had healed, she was continuing to struggle with the mental repercussions.

As a result, she said that her anxiety is “through the roof” and that she recently burst into tears at the sound of a noisy car.

A 12-year-old boy who was hit by Doyle’s car has been left with “nightmares” from the incident, and said he has developed a fear of crowded places and feels “anxious” when crossing roads.

His victim impact statement said: “It started off as the best day ever, I was so excited to see my heroes go past on the open top bus and the party atmosphere was amazing, but soon the day changed to the worst day of my life.

“I found myself on the floor having been hit by a car I did not see coming, I have never felt so scared before in my life. I was split up from my mum, I felt lost, confused, didn’t know what was happening to me or why.”

In the first victim impact statement of those injured by Paul Doyle, Jack Trotter said he had to quit football at the age of 23 and was unable to do things he used to do with his three-year-old son.

He said: “In the days and weeks following the incident, life was a struggle. I needed support with all aspects of my daily living.

“I was unable to shower or dress myself without my fiancee, Abbie’s help. Learning to walk again has been a long and often painful process.”

Scott Dolan, 36, who suffered knee, back and hand injuries, said he had “lost months of my life not being able to do things I love to do” and was off work for about two months.

His statement read: “I’ve had flashbacks from time to time. I feel anxious when the incident is brought up in conversation and I now have a reluctance to travel into Liverpool city centre.”

Jessica Fawcett, 21, said she had quit her job as a nursery worker because she could not work on her injured foot all day, had become isolated and no longer felt safe near cars or roads.

Her statement read: “The emotional and psychological injury is also still with me, and I don’t yet know what the full impact of this will be.”