Eyewitnesses said a car that drove into a crowd of Liverpool supporters in the city centre missed their family by "inches".

Footage of the incident, which was circulating online on Monday, appeared to show the vehicle speed up as it veered into pedestrians on both sides of Water Street in the city centre.

Merseyside Police said a 53-year-old suspect arrested at the scene was white, British and from the Liverpool area and it is understood Counter Terrorism Policing North West are supporting the force.

Now, Matt Cole, a BBC reporter who attended the parade with his family, witnessed the incident, saying it missed them by "inches".

Merseyside Police have arrested a man

Cole told BBC News: "I was there with my family. We had just moments before watched fireworks going off and celebrations, the Liverpool bus passing us on the Strand.

"There were screams ahead of us and suddenly this dark blue car just came through the crowd.

"It just wasn’t stopping. I managed to grab my daughter, who was with me and jump out of the way. It missed myself and my family by literally inches.

"We then turned and watched what happened momentarily behind us before running.

"It was being chased by a group of men who were trying to bang on the side of it and throw things at it. The back of the rear windshield had been completely smashed in, but it just had no intention of stopping.

"At that point, we and others dived into a side street and then once I was sure my family were safe, I looked back to see people sitting on the ground surrounded by people."

Merseyside Police cordoned off the scenePA

An eyewitness told GB News: "I saw a car ram through people and pedestrians then started banging on the car like 'what are you doing?'

"Then the driver reversed and sped up forward and mowed down more people as pedestrians, police and ambulances started chasing after the car. It happened five feet away from me, I’m so grateful I managed to avoid it, terrifying to think what could have happened."

Matthew O’Carroll, 28, from Runcorn, saw the car approaching the top of Water Street, adding: "We were walking up Water Street and approaching the top of the road and the vehicle came past a parked police van at a decent speed.

"People managed to get out of the way as he was beeping as he went through but as he went past, people were obviously very angry and so started running after the car. The back window of the car was already smashed.

"I thought that once it went past us, it was just someone that was trying to get away from something and would slow down when he got to more people."

Police restrained people who were "smashing" the car that hit crowds in Water Street, a witness said.

Daniel Jones, 28, told the Sun: "A lot of people were evidently really angry. They were smashing [the car] up. Police were trying to restrain them.

"The back of the window was completely smashed. Everyone was just jumping onto that car, trying to jump on that car because officers were trying to restrain them.

"They were ripping the register plate off. The back window was broken when the [driver] was still in it."