Paul Doyle had 'history of violence' long before driving into Liverpool parade crowds

The man who mowed down hundreds of Liverpool supporters during the Premier League title parade earlier this year had a history of violence, despite being described as a 'family man'.

After Paul Doyle was arrested for the horrific events that unfolded on 26 May, reports said the father-of-three was mild-mannered and the perfect neighbour.

And yet the former Royal Marine, who has just been sentenced to 21 years and six months in prison for his actions that injured 134 people, including a six-month-old baby, had a history of violence.

The 54-year-old joined the armed forces at the age of 19, back in 1991, but very quickly found himself in trouble for violence, criminal damage and dishonesty, the Guardian reports.

When he was discharged from the Marines in 1993, he'd wracked up six civilian and service convictions and later that year landed himself in prison for biting off a sailor's ear in a pub brawl.

Horror unfolded when Doyle drove into crowds at the Liverpool parade in May (DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

Someone who worked with Doyle in the Marines has spoken about how quick he was to anger, revealing he was known as 'an absolute live wire'.

"It was like he was on a tripwire. Everyone would say, ‘He’s got a horrendous flash to bang’ – meaning the point you get annoyed to the point you’re punching people is zero time," they recalled.

Another former colleague, who was unaware of Doyle's previous convictions, said: "He was just out drinking with everyone and he’d just be filling people in. He had zero escalation – he was just on the tripwire."

They went on to say the IT networking engineer, who is said to have avoided alcohol later in his life, had become an 'outcast' because of his behaviour.

"Normal people would give him a wide berth. They’re 21 years old and they’re trying to pull girls," they added. "They don’t want to be around some sort of lunatic Tasmanian devil who’s trying to knock everyone out who bumps into him."

The youngest named victim was a 6-month-old baby (DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

According to prosecutor Paul Greaney KC, Doyle has 'taken steps to lead a positive and productive life,' since he was released from prison in 1995.

In court he changed his plea to guilty, admitting to dangerous driving, affray, 17 charges of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, nine counts of causing GBH with intent and three counts of wounding with intent.

The Everton supporter had been picking up his wife's friends from the Liverpool FC parade when he became increasingly agitated at the hoards of people, before ultimately using his 1.9 tonne Ford Galaxy Titanium 'as a weapon' when he drove into crowds.