The Japan Times - Driver sobs as he admits ploughing car into Liverpool football parade

Paul Doyle had for months denied 31 criminal charges, including causing grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, affray and dangerous driving during the Liverpool city centre incident in May.

But on the second day of his trial and as prosecutors prepared to begin presenting evidence against him, the 54-year-old sensationally changed his plea.

Wearing a suit and glasses, he sobbed and stared at the floor as he repeatedly said "guilty" with a faltering voice to each count.

Judge Andrew Menary said he would pass sentence over two days starting on December 15, telling Doyle to prepare for "a custodial sentence of some length".

The maximum sentence for the most serious offences is life imprisonment.

Father-of-three Doyle, who has been in custody since his arrest, will remain in prison ahead of sentencing.

Doyle, from a Liverpool suburb and reportedly a former Royal Marine, drove his nearly two-tonne Ford Galaxy Titanium into pedestrians as they were leaving the parade celebrating Liverpool Football Club's victory on May 26.

He injured 134, including infants, other children and adults, according to Merseyside Police.

Although no one was killed, 50 people required hospital treatment.

- 'Mayhem' -

Those targetted had been celebrating Liverpool claiming a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title. The parade along the city's waterfront had drawn hundreds of thousands of fans.

Police swiftly declared that the incident was not terrorism. But the circumstances of the alleged attack had remained largely unclear.

It now appears to have been an extreme case of road rage.

Doyle had driven into the city centre to pick up friends who had attended the parade, making dangerous manoeuvres within minutes of leaving home, according to prosecutors.

Sarah Hammond, the Crown Prosecution Service's top regional prosecutor, said in a statement following his guilty plea that dash-cam footage from his vehicle showed he had become "increasingly agitated by the crowds".

"Rather than wait for them to pass, he deliberately drove at them, forcing his way through," she added, calling it "an act of calculated violence".

"This was not a momentary lapse by Paul Doyle -- it was a choice he made that day and it turned celebration into mayhem."

The prosecution had planned to submit evidence in the trial showing he repeatedly swore and blasted his horn at pedestrians as he grew increasingly angry at their presence on the roads.

After hitting the first victims, he continued down another street and struck more people, reversing at one point and colliding with others as well as an ambulance, before later ploughing into a pram.

Toddler Teddy Eveson was flung from it but was unhurt.

- 'Shocking scenes' -

The car eventually stopped after several people including children became trapped beneath it and a pedestrian jumped inside for the final 16 seconds of its ill-fated journey, according to prosecutors.

The man who got in the vehicle pushed its automatic transmission into park, helping bring it to a stop.

Prosecutors also noted that Doyle had planned to contest the charges by arguing he was panicked and had feared for his life after some of the car's windows were smashed as the crowd turned hostile.

Doyle was originally charged with seven offences, but 24 new counts were filed in August.

The charges related to 29 victims, including eight who were children at the time. The youngest was six months-old Teddy, while the eldest was in their late 70s.

Merseyside Police Detective Chief Inspector John Fitzgerald said it was "hard to forget the shocking scenes from that day".

It was "only by sheer luck that nobody was killed because of Doyle's reckless actions", he added.

A Liverpool FC spokesman said the club hoped Doyle's conviction "brings some peace to all those affected by the horrific incident".

Thanking the emergency services and others who responded, he added: "Their actions undoubtedly saved lives and exemplified the spirit of our city."

K.Okada--JT