John Bishop and Natasha Hamilton have led the celebrity tributes across social media after 47 people were injured when an unnamed driver ploughed into crowds of Liverpool fans during the club’s Premier League trophy parade on Monday.
Thousands of devoted fans had flocked into Liverpool to watch Arne Slot’s side make their way through the city on an open-top bus after winning their second Premier League trophy.
But the joyful scenes were marred when an unnamed driver, understood to be a white male, accelerated into the crowd after pulling out of a local pub.
A total of 27 people were taken to hospital following the horrific incident, with four still seriously injured – including a child who was one of four people still trapped under car when firefighters arrived. The other casualties were treated at the scene
Bishop, 58, who was attending the city parade with his father Edward, has since paid tribute to the victims in a social media post shared with Instagram followers on Tuesday morning.
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‘I was at the parade today with my dad and like everyone else I am shocked and heartbroken about the events at the end of the Liverpool parade,’ he wrote.
‘My heart goes out to all those affected. Our anthem could not be more appropriate. You’ll never walk alone.’
Liverpool-born Atomic Kitten star Hamilton, 42, revealed her father had been attending the event with a family member when the carnage unfolded.
Sharing a picture of them together shortly before the incident, she wrote: ‘My dad and nephew were in Liverpool today at the celebration parade. Then I saw a video of what happened and my heart sank.
‘Thankfully they’re both safe but I’m absolutely horrified at what I saw today and my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.’
Former Love Island contestant and campaigner Sharon Gaffka also escaped unharmed after travelling to Liverpool from her Oxford home to watch the parade.
Posting a photo of herself triumphantly waving a Liverpool flag beside the club’s open top bus, she wrote: ‘What unfolded after was terrifying and heartbreaking. My thoughts are with everyone affected by the events. And I hope everyone got home safely.
‘What struck me wasn’t just the devastation, but how this city responded. I’ve seen so many fans and locals offering lifts, shelter and comfort to complete strangers – because that’s what Liverpool is. Its resilience. Its community. Its people looking out for each other in the worst of times.
‘That’s the reason I love this place. You’ll never walk alone.’
Sharing his own thoughts on X, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher added: ‘Thoughts and prayers with all our brothers and sisters of LIVERPOOL.’
Sharing a photo of the city’s Liver Building shrouded in red mist, former Brookside actress Claire Sweeney wrote: ‘Devastated to hear what happened yesterday in Liverpool.
‘Praying for the injured.’
Elsewhere former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher and actress Sheree Murphy – whose husband Harry Kewell once played for the club – shared similar tributes.
Dramatic footage captured just before the chaos unfolded shows the man’s Ford Galaxy being surrounded and attacked by angry fans as he attempts to reverse out of the packed street.
Supporters – alarmed by the car’s erratic movements in the dense crowd – can be seen hitting the windows and kicking the tires.
One man even rips off the rear windscreen wiper and appears to try smashing a window before jumping out of the way to avoid being run over before the car then sped off down the road.
Authorities have confirmed the incident is not being treated as terrorism and that the man in custody, a white British male from Liverpool, is believed to have been the driver of the vehicle.
The shocking collision occurred around 6pm on Monday on Water Street, which was not on a list of roads to be closed for the parade to celebrate Liverpool’s 20th league title.
Witnesses reported the car was travelling at 30mph and had been sounding its horn as it edged through the dense crowd – prompting angry fans to ask ‘what are you doing?’ before it suddenly accelerated, swerved, and mounted the pavement.
They described how ‘all hell broke’ loose and people ‘were flying in all directions’ as car ploughed into the tightly packed crowd for 200 yards.
Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Sims of Merseyside Police said: ‘My thoughts are with all those injured in tonight’s horrific incident.
Ahead of the parade, Liverpool City Council said:
‘The Strand will be closed northbound from the Upper Parliament Street/Great George Street junction to Leeds Street/Great Howard Street junction from 04.00 – 22.00, or until it is safe to re-open.
‘The southbound lane will be closed from approx. 12.00 – 20.00, again subject to crowd safety requirements.
‘Additionally, Leeds Street City bound will be closed from 12.00 until approx. 20.00.’
There was no mention of Water Street being closed, where the horror unfolded.
‘This had been a joyous day in Liverpool with hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets to celebrate Liverpool Football Club’s parade.
‘Sadly, at 6pm as the parade was drawing to a close, we received reports that a car was in collision with a number of pedestrians in Water Street.’
Sims stressed the event is being treated as an isolated incident, and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the crash.
‘We believe this to be an isolated incident and are not currently looking for anyone else. The incident is not being treated as terrorism,’ she said.
The police chief urged the public not to speculate or spread misinformation online, and thanked emergency workers and bystanders who rushed to help the injured.
Liverpool City Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said this morning there are ‘still four people who are very, very ill in hospital’.
Asked whether that reflects an increase on the previous number of seriously injured – given by authorities last night as one adult and one child – he told BBC 5 Live: ‘No, not directly, but of course we’re in liaison with the police and with the ambulance services.’
Video circulating online showed the people carrier moving slowly along the crowded street. Pedestrians appeared to stop it and try and pull the driver from the passenger seat, shouting ‘what are you doing?’
It reversed before suddenly accelerated into the tightly packed crowd of supporters, with witnesses describing the screams of victims and the sickening thud of bodies being flung over the bonnet.
The vehicle accelerated veering right then left, travelling across the street mounting the pavement, hitting men, women and even a baby, witnesses said.
When the car eventually slowed to a stop, angry fans surged forward hitting it, throwing bottles, screaming ‘kill him’ as others attempted to lift the vehicle to rescue pedestrians trapped under the wheels.
Within seconds, the driver was dragged from his seat before police intervened.
The shocking incident took place only days after a run in one of the city’s parks to commemorate the lives of the Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
Ninety-seven football fans were fatally injured in a terrace crush at an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989.
A source told the Mail that the driver appeared to have ‘tailgated’ an ambulance down Water Street, which had been closed to traffic.
‘It looks as if he has panicked when he realised he was in the crowd and people began banging on his car,’ the insider said.
‘Instead of going back the way he came he’s got angry and put his foot down, it’s absolutely devastating.’