A man who tried to kill himself and his two children in a fume-filled car in revenge against his former partner was yesterday jailed indefinitely.

The man, 37, who cannot be named for legal reasons, tried to murder his son, 4, and daughter, 1, telling them he would take them to heaven. He had been babysitting the children while his former partner was out. He drove from his home in Swindon, Wiltshire, to a nearby park where he locked himself and the children in the car and attached a pipe from the exhaust to the vehicle. Officers who found the car attempted to remove the hose and smash their way into it but the youngsters were only released when their father opened the doors. Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Dobbs said: ?To try to kill your children to get back at your ex-partner is about as heartless an offence as one could imagine.?

He will serve at least five years and 50 days before being considered for parole.