A man has been detained after a car drove into the crowd at Liverpool’s title celebrations. Photo by Getty Images
A man has been arrested after a car collided with pedestrians in Liverpool city centre during Liverpool Football Club’s Premier League victory parade on Monday.
Merseyside Police confirmed that the man arrested is a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area. Police have not confirmed whether the man arrested was the driver of the car.
Several police cars and ambulances are responding to the incident on Water Street, while an air ambulance also arrived at the scene.
In a statement, Merseyside Police said: “We are currently dealing with reports of a road traffic collision in Liverpool city centre.
“We were contacted at just after 6pm [BST] today, Monday 26 May, following reports a car had been in a collision with a number of pedestrians on Water Street.
“The car stopped at the scene and a male has been detained. Emergency services are currently on the scene.
“We will issue more updates as we have them.”
No information on the number of injuries was provided.
In a later statement, they 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.”
Liverpool issued a statement, in which they said: “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.
“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.”
The incident came as hundreds of thousands of supporters lined the city’s streets to celebrate Liverpool winning the Premier League title.
Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said in a statement: “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 development,” he added, “and ask that we give the police the space they need to investigate.”