Two men charged with PC Neil Doyle murder

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...Liverpool.html

Two men charged with murder of newlywed police officer on his Christmas night out in Liverpool

- Pc Neil Doyle, a 36-year-old beat bobby, was attacked on Thursday night
- Two men, aged 28 and 30, from Liverpool, have been charged with murder
- Police said it appeared the attackers knew victims were off-duty officers
- Mr Doyle's widow said that he was 'very well loved by family and friends'

Newlywed: Pc Neil Doyle, above, a 36-year-old beat bobby, was set upon in the early hours of Friday in what his boss described as an unprovoked attack

Two men have been charged with the murder of an of a newlywed police officer who was attacked while on his Christmas night out in Liverpool.

Pc Neil Doyle, a 36-year-old beat bobby, was set upon in the early hours of Friday morning in what his boss described as an unprovoked and vicious attack.

Andrew Taylor, 28, from Huyton, Liverpool, and Christopher Spendlove, 30, of Stockbridge Village, Liverpool, will appear at Liverpool Crown Court tomorrow.

Both defendants have also each been charged with two counts of Section 18 assault, said Merseyside Police.

Police said previously that it appeared that the attackers knew that their victims were off-duty police officers.

Mr Doyle married only five months ago and he and wife Sarah, 37, had booked a belated honeymoon for the new year.

Mrs Doyle said in a statement: 'Neil was very well loved by all of his family, friends and colleagues and it is a great loss to us all.

'We are finding it extremely difficult to come to terms with what has happened and need time to be left to grieve.'

The couple were married in July and were due to go on their honeymoon next month.

Speaking last week, Sir Jon Murphy, Merseyside's Chief Constable, said: 'Constable Doyle was enjoying a Christmas night out with his work colleagues.

'They were subjected to an apparently unprovoked and vicious attack by a group of males. There is no indication whatsoever that they were involved in any kind of argument or altercation earlier in the evening.

Investigation: The fight, which involved no weapons, broke out in Colquitt Street, central Liverpool, at 3.15am following the officers' Christmas party at a pub. Above, officers at the scene on Friday

'The officer I have spoken to has indicated that the individuals who approached them referred to them as police officers.

'They then assaulted the officers, leaving two with nasty head injuries and resulting in the tragic death of Neil.'

The fight, which involved no weapons, broke out in Colquitt Street, central Liverpool, at 3.15am following the officers' Christmas party at a pub.

The attackers vanished when it became clear that Mr Doyle was seriously hurt.

Officers and bouncers from a nearby club tried to revive him before paramedics arrived.

A post-mortem examination concluded that Pc Doyle died from a fatal bleed around the brain.

Another personal(ish) story for me.

Terrible story of course, but also rather scary considering I spent most of my nights out in bars on that street. Indeed, the night after this happened we were having drinks in my favourite bar and part of the street was still blocked off, we could see Police Officers walking along to where it was blocked to lay flowers right across the street. Hard to imagine something like this happening considering the bouncers along there, but I guess one wrong fall/blow to the head and it can spell the end.

RIP.

[e5]

At least some justice. Rest in peace