A former Royal Marine who drove a car into a crowd of Liverpool football fans earlier this year once bit off a sailor's ear during a drunken brawl, a court has been told.
A Shocking Past Revealed in Court
Paul Doyle, 54, ploughed his vehicle into more than 100 supporters during the club's Premier League title parade on May 26, 2025. During his sentencing hearing at Liverpool Crown Court, prosecutor Paul Greaney KC detailed Doyle's violent criminal history from his youth and early adulthood.
The court heard that Doyle's past convictions include a serious assault in July 1993, for which he was jailed for 12 months in November 1994. This incident involved him biting off part of another man's ear during a fight. When interviewed by police after the parade incident, Doyle stated this earlier fight had been a drunken altercation with sailors.
Military Service Cut Short by Violence
Doyle's troubled past extended to his brief military career. He enlisted for a 22-year service with the Royal Marines but was discharged after just 22 months. His training at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, ended with a conviction for assault after a nightclub 'scuffle' in October 1991.
Further military convictions followed in February 1992 for using violence against a superior officer and conduct prejudicial to good order. He was later convicted of an offence equivalent to criminal damage in July 1992.
Three Decades of Reform Before Tragedy
Despite this violent history, the prosecution acknowledged that Doyle had stayed out of trouble for 30 years following his release from prison in May 1995. Mr Greaney told the court Doyle had taken significant steps to reform, including attending university, holding responsible jobs, and raising a family.
"The prosecution recognises that in the 30 years between his release from prison in May 1995 and his dreadful actions on May 26, 2025, the defendant had taken steps to live a positive and productive life," said Mr Greaney. He added that these efforts at rehabilitation made the events of the parade "more shocking and tragic".
Doyle, who has pleaded guilty to charges relating to the parade incident, spent much of the two-day hearing crying in the dock. This emotional display came as statements from dozens of injured fans were read aloud, detailing how their lives were changed – sometimes irreparably – by his actions.
The final previous offences on his record before last month's guilty pleas were for a minor dishonesty offence and breach of the peace in Scotland in December 1993. The sentencing hearing continues.
