CHESSINGTON, UK: A Chessington dad has been sentenced to six years in prison after trying to kill his autistic son before dousing him in diesel.

The 47-year-old man strapped his two children, aged five and six, who cannot be named for legal reasons, into a car and drove to a remote country lane in Dorking in April last year. There he doused them in diesel and hit the eldest boy with a car jack nine times, but did not go through with setting them both on fire.

The jury heard that the man, who also cannot be identified, flagged down a passerby and said: "You've got to come, I've hurt one of my kids. I have tried to commit suicide".

The driver got out and found the boys in the abandoned car, where he described seeing an "awful lot of blood."

On the night of the attack, the boys' mum told her husband she "hated him and didn't want to be with him."

The man denied two counts of attempted murder. He was cleared of trying to kill his younger son but was found guilty of attempting to murder the older brother.

During the trial, his defence lawyer said he was a loving father who came to his senses before it was too late.

Sentencing him on June 26, Judge Samuel Wiggs described it as a "tragedy of the greatest magnitude."

Judge Wiggs said both the man and his wife had suffered mental health problems as well as having to look after their disabled sons.

He said the man was "an extremely caring father" who was at the end of his tether.

A spokesman for Surrey Police, which investigated the case, said: "The circumstances surrounding this incident made it a tragic case for all those involved, in particular the two young victims."

(Source: The Visitor, July 5, 2008)