Paul Doyle in court over Liverpool FC parade crash

Paul Doyle has appeared in court accused of driving his car into a crowd of people after Liverpool FC’s trophy parade.

The former Royal Marine, 53, faces seven charges including wounding with intent, causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, attempting to cause GBH with intent and dangerous driving.

The charges relate to six victims, including two children, after a total of 79 people were injured in the city centre on Monday evening.

The father-of-three of Burghill Road in West Derby, Liverpool, was escorted into the dock at Liverpool Crown Court wearing a black suit, grey tie and white shirt.

Mr Doyle was not asked to respond to the charges at the hearing, which lasted about 45 minutes.

He will next appear on 12 August for a plea hearing.

Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said that reporting restrictions, introduced when Mr Doyle appeared before magistrates earlier, would remain in place.

Philip Astbury, prosecuting, told Judge Menary the charges “as they stand may change”.

“This is an ongoing investigation and there are a great deal of witnesses to be interviewed and footage to be reviewed,” he said.

Damian Nolan, defending, said there would be no application for bail at the hearing.

Mr Doyle first appeared at a separate hearing in Liverpool Magistrates’ Court earlier, and appeared emotional as he spoke only to confirm his date of birth and age.

For much of that hearing he sat in the dock listening to proceedings.

His case was listed for Liverpool Crown Court around an hour after the magistrates court hearing, which is in the same building.

This is not usual procedure, but courts will sometimes fast-track hearings for very high profile or complex cases.

Hundreds of thousands of jubilant Liverpool fans packed the city centre on Bank Holiday Monday and lined the 10-mile (16km) parade route as Liverpool FC celebrated winning their second Premier League crown and 20th top-flight league title.

Reports of a car colliding with pedestrians along Water Street, just off the parade route, were first received by police at about 18:00 on Monday.

Ambulances arrived to take people to hospital, with a nine-year-old among the youngest victims of the incident.

A pram carrying a baby boy was spun metres down the street when it was struck, but the child was not hurt.

A fundraising campaign set up for those affected by the incident has raised more than £30,000, including a £10,000 donation from ex-player Jamie Carragher’s charity foundation.