Boy outed father as culprit behind tragic fire

Jack Sykes was battling for life in hospital when he spoke of how father Darren, who perished alongside his younger son Paul in October last year, was behind the tragedy.

An inquest at Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard how the 12-year-old, who suffered 50 per cent burns to his head and upper body told doctors and police “he did it” and “my dad did it on purpose”. The youngster was later transferred to Manchester Royal Infirmary but passed away from his injuries six days after the blaze.

Mr Sykes, aged 44, is believed to have been driven to what a solicitor described as “premeditated homicide” because of access fears following the breakdown of his marriage to the boys’ mother Claire.

The pair had divorced two weeks before the fatal blaze. Two days before the fire, he had attended meeting with a family mediation service about access to his children, which, the inquest heard, left him with the impression he would have less access to his sons.

It was October 22 when he lured his sons up to the attic of his Penistone home with a new model train set, then barricaded a door and set fire to the property.

South Yorkshire Police’s Detective sergeant Stuart Hall told the court that earlier that day he had spent £600 model trains, before visiting a garage and buying ten litres of petrol.

He returned home from the petrol station then texted his sons to tell them he had two railway tracks up and running, adding: “I just need two engine drivers.”.

At 4.14pm he had a conversation with his boss, who described his employee as a “devoted father”, during which the former said his meeting with the mediation meeting had been a “waste of time”. The inquest heard that colleagues were aware Mr Sykes had anger management issues but had continued to work.

Recapping the carpet fitter’s last moments, DS Hall said the boys’ father had picked them up from their grandmother’s house in nearby Thurlstone, where they were living with his ex-wife in the early evening.

Crews from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue were called out to the semi-detached house at around 6.30pm.

In the moments before he started the blaze, Mr Sykes had sent a text message to six people containing a picture of an angel, which read: “...now I have found peace.”

The court heard a dining chair was found wedged behind the door to the kitchen and stairs to stop his sons from escaping and chairs blocking the front door were found by firefighters.

Jack was found at the bottom of the loft ladder by fire crews, while his dad and nine-year-old brother were discovered in the attic.

A devastated Mrs Sykes said she continues to carry guilt for what happened.

“My boys meant the world to me,” she said.

Ruling that the boys had been unlawfully killed, coroner Christopher Dorries said she must not blame herself.

“Nobody could have known what would happen,” he added.