Man detained after car collides with pedestrians during Premier League parade

Police and emergency personnel dealing with a road traffic incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners' parade | PA

A man has been detained after a car collided with pedestrians in Liverpool city centre during Liverpool FC’s Premier League victory parade.

Emergency services descended on Water Street after Merseyside Police were contacted just after 6pm on Monday with reports of the incident.

The car stopped at the scene and a man was detained.

A Merseyside Police spokesperson said: “We would ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident on Water Street in Liverpool city centre.

“We can confirm the man arrested is a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area.

“Extensive enquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances leading up to the collision.

“We would ask people not to share distressing content online but to send the footage or information directly to us @MerPolCC or pass on information by calling 101 quoting log 784.

“Information can also be passed on anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper are being kept updated about the events.

Sir Keir said: “The scenes in Liverpool are appalling — my thoughts are with all those injured or affected.

“I want to thank the police and emergency services for their swift and ongoing response to this shocking incident.

“I’m being kept updated on developments and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate.”

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People were injured in the incident, with images capturing someone being taken away on a stretcher and a man walking with his arm around a police officer for support.

Footage showed police cordons in place around the heavily littered road, with a large police presence, ambulances and a fire engine also at the scene.

A spokesperson for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said: “We are currently assessing the situation and working with other members of the emergency services.

“Our priority is to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible.”

Police and emergency personnel dealing with a road traffic incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners' parade | PA

Liverpool FC held an open-top bus parade to celebrate its Premier League triumph, with fans lining the streets along the 10-mile route.

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Liverpool City Councillor John Hughes estimated in excess of one million people were attending, beating the 750,000 present for the 2019 Champions League parade.

Hundreds ignored police advice not to climb on structures – or adhere to the ‘no pyro’ request – as every vantage point, ranging from multi-storey car parks, scaffolding, rooftops, on top of petrol stations, traffic lights and lamp posts, was taken.

Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson, whose seat includes the city centre, said: “I sincerely hope all those involved are safe and get home to their loved ones soon.”

Harry Rashid, 48, from Solihull, was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters when he witnessed the collision.

He said: “It happened about 10 feet away from us. We were just in a crowd and we had no control over where we would be, because it was a very narrow street.

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“The vehicle came to our right. It emerged from just right next to an ambulance, which was parked up. This grey people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us.

“It was travelling south, down Water Street, straight towards the Strand, which is where the docks are.

Crowds ‘tried to smash car windows’

“It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”

Police and emergency personnel dealing with the road traffic incident | PA

Mr Rashid described how crowds began trying to smash the car windows: “Then he stalled for a few seconds, probably about 10 seconds. Then the crowd that was a bit further back started rushing at him trying to smash his windows.

“But then he put his foot down again and just ploughed through the rest of them, he just kept going.

“It was horrible. And you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.

“Then my daughter started screaming and there were people on the ground.”

He added: “They were just innocent people, just fans going to enjoy the parade. There were hundreds and thousands of us there because this is probably the busiest part of Liverpool.”

“We were shocked, couldn’t believe it.”

Emergency services arrived at the scene “within seconds”, he said.

Mr Rashid said: “Ambulances were already there. There was one right next to where this occurred, so there was a paramedic inside there.

“But then they started arriving within seconds, they’re all trying to get to the crowd and negotiate the crowd, which is very difficult to do, you see, because there’s that many people, they constantly been trying to move.

A tent is erected by police with a road traffic accident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool after a car collided with pedestrians during the Premier League winners' parade | Danny Lawson/PA Wire

“I just wanted my kids to get off the road regardless because I couldn’t trust whether there’s a follow up attack or something like that. Because you are just exposed there on the pavement.

“I saw people lying on the ground, people unconscious.

“It was horrendous. So horrendous.”

‘People sounded desperate’

Witness Natasha Rinaldi, who was watching the parade from her friend’s living room, told Sky News: “It was so loud. People sounded desperate.

“And then we looked out the window and we saw the car (had) run over people.

“Then people started rushing to go after the driver and they tried to break the car. The police did everything to block and to push people away.

“We could just hear screams and screams. We were very confused.

“Some of my friends were down there and the car was so near them. It was a horrible scene, nobody was expecting it.”

She said “people had stopped the car” and were knocking on the window “and trying to speak to the driver”.

“People were very angry and shocked, and then the police intervened. And then we heard the ambulances coming.”

‘It missed myself and my family by literally inches’

Matt Cole, a BBC reporter who attended the parade with his family, witnessed the incident.

He told BBC News: “I was there with my family. We had just moments before watched fireworks going off and celebrations, the Liverpool bus passing us on the Strand.

“There were screams ahead of us and suddenly this dark blue car just came through the crowd.

“It just wasn’t stopping. I managed to grab my daughter who was with me and jump out of the way.

“It missed myself and my family by literally inches. We then turned and watched what happened momentarily behind us before running.

Police and emergency personnel dealing with the road traffic incident on Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool | Danny Lawson/PA Wire

“It was being chased by a group of men who were trying to bang on the side of it and throw things at it.

“The back of the rear windshield had been completely smashed in, but it just had no intention of stopping.

“At that point, we and others dived into a side street and then once I was sure my family were safe, I looked back to see people sitting on the ground surrounded by people.

“Police came running from all over, ambulances, police vans, as we moved away through those crowds.

“An entire squad of armed police cars stopped, and people jumped out with rifles and again big medical packs on and began running to the scene of the incident.”