PC Neil Doyle killing: Two men jailed for manslaughter

PC Neil Doyle died on a night out in Liverpool last December

Two men who killed an off-duty policeman in a "joint and repeated attack" during a night out in Liverpool have been jailed for manslaughter.

PC Neil Doyle, 36, died after being struck by a "pile driver" punch in the early hours of 19 December 2014.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Andrew Taylor, 29, was jailed for seven years and six months and Timmy Donovan, 30, of Huyton, for six years and 10 months.

A third man, Christopher Spendlove, was cleared of manslaughter in July.

The trial judge, Mr Justice Turner, told the pair, who were convicted under joint enterprise law: "There is no such thing as a death-proof punch."

The judge rejected any suggestion the men acted in "excessive self-defence."

Andrew Taylor's barrister, Lord Carlile, said the family may never know who struck the fatal blow and had the punch landed slightly to the left or right "the consequences would have been entirely different."

Andrew Taylor (left) and Timmy Donovan (right) were jailed for killing PC Neil Doyle

PC Doyle suffered an injury to an artery in his neck, which led to bleeding over the surface of the brain.

It was the same injury that killed Australian cricketer Philip Hughes, the trial heard.

Two of his colleagues, Merseyside officers Michael Steventon and Robert Marshall, were also injured in the confrontation.

In a victim impact statement read in court, PC Doyle's widow Sarah said her world had been "torn apart".

She said they had been "inseparable" and "soul mates" and "I still hold the belief my husband was targeted because he was a police officer."

"I feel numb, emotionless, lost, like I am among the outside of the situation looking in."

As the statement was read to the court, she sobbed in the public gallery.

"Seeing him lying in the gutter like a dying cat, not one person going over to help, I will never get the image out of my head," the statement said.

Less than six months after their July 2014 wedding, she was "standing at the bottom of the aisle with Neil in a coffin" and felt it was a "life sentence."

Taylor's barrister, Lord Carlile, said PC Neil Doyle was a "victim of a terrible set of circumstances."

CCTV of the build-up to the incident shows the two groups of men outside a club.

The footage was released by Merseyside Police following sentencing in court.

'Face the music'

In a letter read to the court, Taylor, a former Forest Green Rovers footballer, said: "I offer my most sincere apologies to the family.

"I will regret walking up Seel Street every day."

He said he had brought great shame upon his family and accepted full responsibility.

The attack happened near a club in Colquitt Street

The trial heard Donovan, a sports events manager, had travelled to Germany on the day of PC Doyle's killing.

He was also sentenced for causing wounding with intent.

His legal representative Howard Godfrey said: "I do not accept that it is fair to conclude that it was Mr Donovan who struck the fatal blow."

The judge replied: "Well he shouldn't have gone to Germany, should he?

"Instead of staying behind and facing the music, he decided he'd skip the jurisdiction."

Det Supt Mike Shaw, of Merseyside Police, said: "We hope the prison sentences that Andrew Taylor and Timmy Donovan are now starting will serve as a stark reminder about the devastating consequences of alcohol-fuelled violence that can have on so many people.

"Neil Doyle lost his life because of this moment of aggression and PCs Robert Marshall and Michael Steventon suffered serious injuries, too."

He said Taylor and Donovan had also ruined their lives and the incident could have been avoided "had the defendants not chose to inflict violence on three men enjoying an innocent Christmas night out".

"No-one's night out should end like this."