A newly-divorced father who used a train set to lure his two young sons to their deaths in a 'terrible ' arson attack had been worried about his access rights to the children , an inquest has heard . Darren Sykes died alongside Paul , nine , and Jack , 12 , after setting a fire in his home and locking himself and the boys in the attic . The 44-year-old had been worried about how much he would be able to see the children after recently divorcing from their mother , Sheffield Coroner 's Court heard . Mr Sykes died in the attic after inhaling smoke while Paul 's body was found near the edge of the loft . Jack , who was found unconscious next to its hatch door , died in hospital five days later . Darren Sykes died after setting fire to his home after luring sons Paul ( left ) and Jack ( right ) into the attic with a new train set . The newly-divorced father had been worried about his custody rights , an inquest into his death heard . The 44-year-old had recently divorced the boys ' mother when he set the fire . Above , a family photograph taken in the years before their death . In the days before his death the father of two from Penistone , south Yorkshire , sent letters to a bank telling them he 'would not be alive ' to pay his mortgage . On October 22 , when the three were killed in the fire , he sent a text message to a handful of friends saying 'he was going to be at peace ' . Concluding that the carpet estimator had intended to take his own life , Sheffield coroner Chris Dorries said : 'The whole business is absolutely terrible . Following a police statement which described the ongoing custody battle between Mr Sykes and his estranged wife Claire , he added : 'He may have taken the view he would have less access . ' On the morning of his death Mr Sykes spent £800 on a model railway track before sending text messages to both his sons asking them to visit him at his house that day . Before luring them into the attic he sprayed four cans of petrol across the ground floor of the house and barricaded doors with furniture . He had also tied the front and back garden gates with cord to prevent anyone from accessing the property . Mr Sykes had recently divorced the boys ' mother Claire ( above ) . A coroner told of how he may have been worried about his access rights to the children after family court liaisons met with police officers . Jack , left , spent five days in hospital fighting for his life while younger brother Paul ( right ) was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital . Neighbours described seeing a flash come from the property moments after Mr Sykes sent text messages to friends saying he would be 'at peace ' . Police and firefighters arrived to find the 44-year-old 's body in the loft . Police were forced to smash a window to gain access to the property . Right , neighbours leave tributes to the family following the tragedy . 'The door to the stairs had been wedged to stop anyone coming down and there were chairs behind the front door as if to prevent people coming in , ' said special fire investigator Michael Mason . Evidence suggested Mr Sykes 's eldest son Jack made a desperate attempt to escape as flames ravaged the floors beneath them . 'At some point during the fire the loft hatch was closed and then opened during the fire which allowed a plume of smoke with gases to enter the loft . 'It was a natural reaction to try to get out . ' Explaining how investigators knew it was Jack rather than his father of young brother who tried to escape , he added : 'Opening the hatch made the position untenable . ' Recording a verdict of suicide , coroner Dorries said it was 'abundantly clear ' Mr Sykes had set the fire which killed him and his two sons . 'All three were inside the loft with the hatch closed when the fire took hold . 'There is no evidence that it was set by anyone else other than Mr Sykes . He intended to take his own life . ' An inquest into the boys ’ deaths will be held later this week .
Paul , 44 , died alongside his two sons in a house fire in October . He had barricaded them into the attic of his property in south Yorkshire . Lured the children with an £800 train set bought on the morning of death . Evidence showed eldest son , 12 , tried to escape by opening attic hatch . He died in hospital five days later while younger brother died at the scene . An inquest heard newly-divorced father was worried about custody rights . Family court liaisons met with police two days before to discuss the case .