Drunken man smashed car into group outside pub

A man who drunkenly smashed his car into a group of people outside a pub on Father's Day - breaking a man's leg - sobbed in court as he was jailed.

Plumber Liam Naylor, 31, was more than twice the drink-drive limit during the attack outside the Queen's Arms in Huyton, Knowsley, on 15 June 2025, which followed an argument inside.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Naylor had shouted "who do you think you're looking at" and "do you know who I am?" from his car before driving at the group.

Jailing him for two years and 11 months, Recorder Anna Pope KC said: "You used your car as a weapon."

Holly Menary, prosecuting, told the court that after Naylor had shouted at the crowd at about 17:15 BST, onlookers tried to stop him by opening the doors to his Ford Zetec car.

However, he reversed back and drove forward twice.

Menary said: "He then ploughed his car into the small crowd that had gathered outside the pub."

Footage filmed by a bystander showed him run over the leg of John Amore, who had been at the pub celebrating Father's Day, and then hit another man, who was pushed over a barrier, dropping a pint glass.

Menary said: "Mr Amore only ended up near the defendant's vehicle in the first place as he had been trying to stop the defendant from driving as he was plainly unfit to do so."

In a statement Amore, who was unable to work for nine months after breaking his fibula and tibia, said: "As a result of this small man wanting to fight the world my life has altered.

"Father's Day will never be the same for our family again."

When Naylor was arrested later that day, a breathalyser test showed he had 84 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, more than twice the legal limit of 35.

The court heard he had refused to give a blood sample and told officers he had a phobia of needles.

The father of two, of Fairclough Road, Huyton, pleaded guilty at earlier hearings to causing grievous bodily harm, dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and failing to provide a specimen.

Callum Ross, mitigating, said his client was "full of regret" for his offending and was described in a reference as hard-working and reliable.

He said: "There is perhaps a very different side to him which he is capable of showing in all other walks of life, other than in the minute and a half of footage your honour has seen."

Naylor was also disqualified from driving for 47 months.

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