Man arrested after car ploughs into crowd celebrating Liverpool Premier League football title parade
Nearly 50 people were injured when a car ploughed into a packed crowd of football fans celebrating at a parade marking Liverpool’s Premier League victory.
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Nearly 50 people were injured when a car ploughed into a packed crowd of football fans celebrating at a parade marking Liverpool’s Premier League victory.
More than one million pedestrians were gathered on Water Street when a dark-coloured Ford Galaxy ploughed into the crowd around 6pm local time (Tuesday 3am AEST), just minutes after the team’s open-top bus had passed through the area.
Authorities confirmed that 27 people were taken to hospital, with two suffering serious injuries — one of them a child — while another 20 were treated at the scene.
The driver, a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area, was arrested at the scene.
Investigating officers believe the incident is isolated and not terrorism-related. They are not searching for any additional suspects.
Graphic footage shared on social media showed bodies being flung into the air and people screaming as the vehicle pushed through the densely packed street.
Some spectators could be seen attempting to attack the vehicle as it came to a stop, banging on the car and furious at what had just unfolded.
Hours after the horrifying incident took place streets in central Liverpool were cordoned off and heavily manned by police.
Football fans were seen still partying into the late hours of the night and were given strict instructions by police that they could not enter the area which was closed off to the public.
Harry Rashid, who was at the parade with his wife and two young daughters, said what he witnessed happened “extremely fast”.
“Initially we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of the car,” he said.
“It was horrible and you could hear the bumps as he was going over the people.”
Just hours earlier fans had lined the 16km parade route to watch players ride by on an open-top bus with fireworks.
An estimated one million people turned out in torrential rain for the jubilant celebrations to see Liverpool’s 16km victory parade, involving players on an open-topped bus and fireworks.
The city’s accommodation was booked out as fans attended the giant celebrations, held on a bank holiday in the UK.
Daniel Jones, 28, told the UK’s Sun newspaper: “A lot of people were evidently really angry. They were smashing [the car] up. Police were trying to restrain them.”
“The back of the window was completely smashed. Everyone was just jumping onto that car, trying to jump on that car because officers were trying to restrain them. They were ripping the register plate off. The back window was broken when the [driver] was still in.”
We would ask people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding tonight’s incident on Water Street in Liverpool city centre.
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) May 26, 2025
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… pic.twitter.com/Ls6z4VXN05
He added: “The back of the window was completely smashed.
“Everyone was just jumping onto that car, trying to jump on that car because officers were trying to restrain them. They were ripping the register plate off. The back window was broken when the [driver] was still in.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday expressed his shock after a car ploughed into a crowd of football fans celebrating Liverpool’s Premier League title victory.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he was “horrified” at the scenes.
“My thoughts are with all of those affected and injured by this disturbing attack,” he said.
“The scenes in Liverpool are appalling – my thoughts are with those injured or affected,” he wrote on X, thanking the emergency services for their swift response.
Meanwhile, Liverpool FC also issued a statement about the horrific incident.
We are in direct contact with Merseyside Police regarding the incident on Water Street which happened towards the end of the trophy parade earlier this evening.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 26, 2025
Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident.
We will continue to offer… pic.twitter.com/xreiSqiEnL
“We are in direct contact with Merseyside Police regarding the incident on Water Street which happened towards the end of the trophy parade earlier this evening,” it wrote on X.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected by this serious incident.
“We will continue to offer our full support to the emergency services and local authorities who are dealing with this incident.”
Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Our hearts go out to all of those affected, especially those who have been injured”.
“Thank you, as ever, to the first responders for their professionalism and swift action. This is a difficult day for our city region, but we stand together,” he said.
Northwest Ambulance Service said just after 9.30pm local time (Tuesday 6.30am AEST) that they had cleared the scene and would provide an update on casualty numbers in a press conference in the coming hour.
Police also made a plea to the public to not share distressing footage online while the investigations continued.
It remains unclear how the vehicle was able to enter the closed off parade route and plough through the fans congregated in the streets.
Deputy Chief Constable Jenny Sims said that road closures and “robust traffic management” had been in place, but declined to give further details.
Liam Robinson from Liverpool City Council said the incident had “cast a very dark shadow on what’s been a joyous day for the city” and pledged to provide more information “when it’s appropriate to do so.”
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the scenes “appalling” and said: “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.”
Liverpool had been celebrating the title win for weeks, having secured it last month.
On Sunday, the team lifted the Premier League trophy to emotional scenes in a packed stadium before they celebrated at the parade the following day.
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