A paramedic who was run over by an ex-Royal Marine as he mowed down fans celebrating Liverpool FC winning the Premier League has spoken of how he believed he was in the middle of a terrorist incident.
Ahead of Paul Doyle’s sentencing on Monday, when a court is expected to hear harrowing accounts of the terror felt by supporters as his two-ton people carrier ploughed into crowds, Jay Vernon has revealed his own shock and panic.
Despite being ‘sent flying’ himself, the 34-year-old – on duty as a cycle response paramedic for North West Ambulance Service – bravely picked himself up and began treating casualties.
But even as his training kicked in, Mr Vernon watched in horror as 54-year-old Doyle – said by prosecutors to have been furious about his path being obstructed – reversed into an ambulance before once more speeding off.
Fans thronging Water Street in central Liverpool as they set off for home following the parade were unable to get out the way, with 134 people injured, many knocked flying ‘like skittles’ or trapped under the wheels.
The attack was only ended when a supporter bravely got inside the father-of-three’s Ford Galaxy – which had an automatic gearbox – by opening a back door then reaching forward to put it into ‘park’.
As false rumours spread about it being a terror attack, police confirmed the arrested man was white and British.
Doyle sobbed in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court last month as he pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, affray and 29 other GBH-related offences, involving 17 adults and 12 children injured in the carnage last May.
Pictured: Paul Doyle was seen driving through terrified fans in Liverpool on May 26, 2025
Abandoned pushchairs and used medical equipment were left scattered across Water Street after Paul Doyle drove at fans who had been watching the open-top bus victory parade for Liverpool’s Premier League title win
Mr Vernon said he had been making his way along Water Street on foot in front of an ambulance when he was hit by Doyle’s car.
‘I was struck with almighty force from behind, which has then sent me flying over to the right hand side, and I landed in the gutter on Water Street,’ he said.
‘I’ve put my hands out to brace myself, as you normally would and then as I’ve been in the gutter, there was a number of people around me and on the floor.
‘As I’ve looked left, I’ve seen a car. I’ve then seen the car reverse lights come on and it start heading back up towards Water Street.
‘It was at that point in my mind, I immediately thought: “I’m in the middle of a terrorist incident”.’
Mr Vernon, from Aigburth, Liverpool, said he jumped out of the way of the car as it reversed back at speed and saw the vehicle hit the front of the ambulance and ricochet back into the street.
Luckily, he had only suffered grazes in the incident and was able to press the emergency button on his radio, sending a signal to all vehicles on the network and telling a dispatcher ‘there are multiple casualties’.
He began tending to those who were injured around him and saw the vehicle move again.
Paul Doyle faces life in jail after admitting driving his car into crowds at the Liverpool victory parade
Hero paramedic Jay Vernon (pictured) rushed to treat casualties despite himself being knocked to the ground as ex-Marine Paul Doyle ploughed into crowds of supporters
‘It was at that moment in time then that I actually feared for my safety,’ he said.
Mr Vernon briefly sought sanctuary inside an ambulance before ushering children inside the vehicle to keep them out of harm’s way.
He then went followed in the wake of Doyle’s car to start giving first aid.
‘There were people on the floor,’ he said.
‘There were pushchairs, that, obviously, children have been in, on their side.
‘There were bottles of alcohol and stuff all over the floor and a significant amount of people running in in every direction imaginable to get away from what I assume they would think was a terrorist incident as well.’
By now Doyle’s car had been brought to a halt and it was surrounded by police.
‘It was at that moment that I stopped and was thinking “what am I going down towards here?”‘ the paramedic said.
At the scene he triaged patients and gave equipment for those who were tending to the injured.
‘Ultimately, the adrenaline and that desire to help people just kicked in and I think that’s what got me through the majority of the incident.’
Paramedics Matt Hall (left) and Jay Vernon, who both work for North West Ambulance Service, said their medical training kicked in despite the horror and confusion unfolding around them
He was at home last month on a rest day when he heard to his ‘relief’ that Doyle had unexpectedly pleaded guilty to all offences at the start of his trial.
The counts he admitted included attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Vernon.
Among the other paramedics who were first on the scene was Matt Hall, 39, who was returning to his ambulance after responding to reports of a cardiac arrest.
He found a shocking scene with casualties ‘lying around’, some suffering blunt force trauma injuries, chest injuries, rib fractures and bone fractures.
‘I looked calm, I think, but like all of us inside you’re running at a million miles an hour and you’re thinking of lots of potentials and lots of things that you need to do,’ he recalled.
Mr Hall said emergency services responded ‘very well’ to the incident, during which police say it was ‘only by sheer luck that nobody was killed’.
‘I’m sure there are some residual and lasting effects for people, but it’s not the worst case scenario,’ he added.
‘It could have been a very, very different story.’
Emergency services at the scene of the incident on Water Street in Liverpool where more than 130 people were injured
Married Doyle later claimed he was in a ‘blind panic’ and feared for his life when supporters started banging on his windows as he drove down a closed-off street.
But prosecutors dismissed his account, saying dashcam footage from inside the IT consultant’s own car revealed he was angry and intended to cause fans serious harm when he ploughed into them in a rage.
The court is expected to hear that Doyle, who was in the city to pick up friends who had attended the parade, appeared determined to meet them in the city centre even when they suggested walking elsewhere because the roads were clogged with supporters.
Described by baffled friends and neighbours as a hard-working ‘family man’, Doyle served as a Royal Marine for just over four years, according to his LinkedIn page,.
He passed out of the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre, also known as CTCRM, in March 1991 and served with 43 Commando, the unit based in Arbroath, Scotland, that helps secure the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
However, subsequent reports have suggested Doyle may have overstated his service and, in reality, left the Marines before completing his minimum service length in January 1993.
Doyle later went on to graduate from Liverpool University with a degree in psychology and maths, before working at McDonald’s and moving into IT, where his most recent roles involved working in cyber security.
At the time of the attack he was living six miles away in a £300,000 four-bed detached home on a smart new build estate in the suburb of Croxteth.