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A former Royal Marine was a “man in a rage” as he mowed down dozens of Liverpool football club supporters during a championship celebration, an incident many initially feared to be a terrorist attack, according to court proceedings.

“The video is profoundly upsetting.”

Victims in the incident cried while video from the car’s camera showed bodies spinning through the air while he sped towards the gathering while screaming: “Fucking hell, move!”

Doyle, 54, 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.

‘A Man in a Rage’

The prosecution stated those in court that the footage from the defendant’s two-tonne Ford Galaxy proved to be “extremely graphic”. The recording revealed the father of three yelling “expletives” and “move out of the way” as he drove towards hundreds of fans, with people frantically dragging children to safety as his car horn blared.

The court was told that Doyle acted as a “man in a rage whose anger had completely taken hold of him” as he ploughed further into the crowd, accelerating as people collided with his car.

Scale of the Carnage

Overall, the former Royal Marine hurt 134 individuals in just seven minutes – including more than 50 who needed hospital treatment. An infant was “remarkably” unharmed despite being left splayed on the road when Doyle’s car hit his pram, the court heard.

A supporter, a man named in court, was seen being launched into the air by the vehicle, suffering a cut on his head, broken ribs and numerous scrapes.

Doyle could be heard shouting “for God’s sake move! Get out my fucking way!” before ploughing further into panicked fans, including an elderly woman and children who were dragged under the car.

Celebration Descends into Chaos

Addressing a packed courtroom, lawyers said about 1 million people had attended “an event they believed to be a day of joyfulness” marking the football club’s championship win. The celebratory atmosphere turned to “terror”, the prosecutor said, as Doyle drove into oncoming fans while trying to collect a companion from the parade route.

“Some at the scene believed what was taking place constituted a terrorist incident.”

Brave Intervention Stops Driver

With injured people on the street, Doyle’s rampage was stopped by a former soldier, Dan Barr, who entered the back of the car and held the car’s gear selector in “park”. Despite this, Doyle continued pressing the gas pedal, the court heard.

During questioning, Doyle stated he acted in a “state of sheer panic” because he feared for his life. However, the prosecution argued that the video demonstrated the defendant “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.”

Reckless Behavior Before the Attack

The video showed Doyle was driving recklessly prior to entering downtown, overtaking cars dangerously and running red lights. He disregarded traffic diversion measures and bypassed other vehicles, even emergency service vehicles, as he entered the crowds.

The defendant is understood to be facing a jail term of over a decade when he is sentenced on Tuesday.