‘I used to be so excited to see my heroes go previous on the open prime bus… however quickly it grew to become the worst day of my life’: Boy, 12, reveals affect of Liverpool parade automobile assault as victims inform of trauma

Survivors of Paul Doyle’s terrifying rampage revealed the horror of the day in statements read to his sentencing hearing.

Among the harrowing accounts was that of a 12-year-old boy who was at the parade with his mother watching idols including Mohamed Salah showing off the Premier League trophy.

‘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,’ he said.

‘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.’

The boy, who cannot be identified, now has ‘a fear of crowded places’ and gets ‘very anxious when crossing roads’.

‘I get a fright when I hear a car horn or the revving or noise of a speeding car.’

He added: ‘I often replay the incident in my head, I don’t know why I do this, maybe it’s to try and make some sense of what happened, but nothing makes sense which frustrates me.

‘My mum has been so supportive, but I feel really upset when I see my mum crying.

‘I don’t understand why the man in the car has done this to me and my mum.’

His mother described her anguish at seeing him ‘motionless on the floor’, not moving.

She said those seconds ‘seemed like a lifetime’.

She said: ‘I felt I’d let my son down and now he was in hospital.

‘The sight of my son lying motionless on the road, not moving for those few seconds, and the sound of the car hitting people will live with me forever.’

Anna Bilonozhenko, 43, was in Liverpool watching the parade with her daughter Sasha, 22, after fleeing the war in their native Ukraine.

She had hoped the celebrations would ‘lift our spirits and bring a bit of light back into our lives’ following a bereavement, Mrs Bilonozhenko said.

Instead she has been left with ‘constant physical pain’ after needing a metal plate and screws inserted for treatment on a broken knee.

‘We came to this country because of the war in our homeland, hoping to finally feel safe,’ she said.

‘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.’

Sheree Aldridge, 37, who saw her six-month-old son Teddy being flung through the air in his pram, said was convinced he was dead – ‘mercifully’ he was unhurt.

‘I thought my children would grow up without a mother,’ she said.

She spent 18 days in hospital and had to learn learnt to walk again using a frame, and felt ‘disgusting, disfigured and broken’.

‘All we wanted was to celebrate,’ she said.

‘Instead, we were left broken.’

Amanda Gardener, 52, said she still couldn’t understand why Doyle didn’t simply stop.

‘So many lives have been destroyed, I feel for his family too, it’s just really sad.’

John Davey, 31, was left with spinal fractures in three places which has caused ‘relentless’ pain, day and night, meaning he can no longer work.

‘I cannot sleep — I lie awake for hours, haunted by memories of that day,’ he said.

‘I cannot see a future without pain, without stress, without anxiety.

‘This incident has stolen my independence, my happiness, and my peace of mind.’

Alan Spain, 26, said he had been watching Liverpool play since he was six. 

But matches are now ‘tainted’ because seeing fans clad in red makes him feel like he’s back at the scene of the attack.

‘Every time Liverpool score and I see the fans in the Kop jump and cheer and celebrate, I end up on Water Street,’ he said.

‘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.’

Prosecuting junior Philip Astbury read out extracts from the victims’ personal statements. 

Jack Trotter, then 23, said he needed help to shower and dress due to his injuries, making him reliant on his fiancée. 

‘Learning to walk again has been a long and often painful process.’ 

He was ‘unable to do all the normal things a father and son should be able to’ with his three-year-old boy, ‘like throwing him in the air, playing football.’ 

Mr Trotter had to quit playing football and was unable to work for five weeks.

Since his ordeal he has become ‘increasingly cautious about my surroundings and the safety of my family’.

Scott Dolan, 36, said he suffers ‘flashbacks’ and is reluctant to travel to Liverpool city centre.

He was off work for two months and his girlfriend had to help him dress and wash.

‘I feel like I’ve lost months of my life not being able to do things I love to do, going to the football, playing table tennis, going for walks and going out socially with friends and family.’

Jessica Fawcett, 21, said she still has ‘trouble walking’ and was forced to quit her nursery job as a result.

‘I no longer feel safe near cars or roads,’ she added.

‘I have become isolated, and I feel consistently down and fed up.’

One child victim’s mother said her son suffered sleepless nights in the following weeks.

‘He still gets very anxious with large crowds since the incident and will avoid busy places,’ she said.

The mother was left with ‘severe anxiety’ and had to quit her café job as she couldn’t manage being on her feet all day.

She suffers ‘flashbacks’ and feels ‘extremely vulnerable’.