Liverpool PC Neil Doyle died after 'pile driver' attack

PC Neil Doyle had worked for the police for 10 years

An off-duty police constable was killed during a night out after he was attacked by a man who struck him with a "pile driver" punch, a court heard.

PC Neil Doyle, 36, died following the attack in Liverpool city centre in the early hours of 19 December last year.

Andrew Taylor, 29, Christopher Spendlove, 30, and Timmy Donovan, 30, are on trial for murder at Liverpool Crown Court.

The three men also deny wounding with intent and causing grievous body harm.

There were gasps in the court as the jury was shown CCTV footage of the disturbance. Prosecutors claim the defendants were "determined to get into involved in a physical confrontation."

In a gutter

The footage showed one of PC Doyle's colleagues being repeatedly punched and then kicked while on the floor.

Jurors heard Mr Taylor, a football agent, felled PC Doyle's colleagues with punches and then "delivered a pile driver which took Mr Doyle's legs away".

The punch left the officer staggering across the road before ending up in a gutter, the court heard.

He died after suffering an injury to an artery in his neck, which led to bleeding over the surface of the brain.

The court heard the two groups of men met by "complete coincidence" on Liverpool's Seel Street

It was the same injury that killed Australian cricketer Philip Hughes a month earlier, jurors heard.

The court has been told how PC Doyle was "baited" by Mr Taylor after the men met just before 03:00 GMT in the city's Seel Street.

The defendants are alleged to have followed the officers to the Aloha bar.

Mr Taylor was said to have addressed PC Doyle with "are you having a good evening officer," which put him "on the defensive".

The defendant was described as "trying to bait" the officer into having a fight, according to one of the constables present.

Very persistent

He realised, in his colleague's view, that "something was not right".

Nicholas Johnson QC, prosecuting, said: "According to Mr [Robert] Marshall, Mr Doyle was, to use his phrase, 'switched on', and realised something was not right.

"It is said by Mr Marshall that Mr Taylor was very persistent and declined to make himself scarce, and said things like 'that's not very nice officer' when asked to go away.

"The impression Mr Marshall got was that Mr Taylor was trying to bait Mr Doyle into having a fight."

Mr Johnson added: "The three defendants were determined to get involved in a physical confrontation with the three off-duty policemen.

"They decided to go out of their way to have a fight.

"There was a confrontation, violence followed and the police officers ended up in hospital."

The court heard one of the bar's doormen, Sham Choudhury, saw a punch being thrown at PC Doyle, who he said had moved onto the pavement. After having a punch thrown at him, he threw one back before things "descended into violence."

The three defendants also face charges of wounding with intent to Robert Marshall and causing grievous body harm to Michael Steventon, both colleagues of PC Doyle.

The trial continues.