An estranged husband killed his two young children and himself on a lonely Welsh hillside after taking them on an outing to mark Father’s Day. Brian Philcox, who had been in contact with the pressure group Fathers4Justice, telephoned his wife beforehand to tell her: “I have left you a present — I’ll make the papers, just you wait.”

Mr Philcox, 53, a security guard and karate instructor who was vice-chairman of Karate England, was involved in an acrimonious split and had told friends that he feared losing access to Amy, 7, and Owen, 3, as well as the life savings that he had spent on the family home in Runcorn, Cheshire.

He had care of the children for the Father’s Day weekend when he prompted a bomb alert at the four-bedroom maisonette of his estranged wife Evelyn, 37, where he left a telephone message with his ominous warning. While bomb disposal experts entered the house in Cheshire — requiring more than 100 residents to leave their homes — Mr Philcox is thought to have driven the children in his Land Rover Freelander to a remote spot just off the A470 between Maenan and Tal-y-Cafn, in Snowdonia.

It emerged that Mr Philcox had taken the children on a promised trip to a countryside steam railway. Then he ran a pipe from the exhaust into the car through the window. He sat beside his son and daughter on the back seat as they were overcome by fumes. They were found by a passer-by at 3pm on Sunday.

Mr Philcox was a sixth dan in karate. Alan Carruthers, of the Federation of English Karate Organisations, said: “Brian was a great dad. He did have an issue with his divorce and he was fighting for custody of the children, but the last time I spoke to him he seemed quite positive.”

Mr Philcox was also said to have voiced support for Fathers4Justice. The group confirmed last night that he had contacted it on several occasions and was invited to join, but failed to follow up his interest.

The couple were married in Halton, Cheshire, in 2000. For both it was their second marriage. It foundered about 18 months ago when Mrs Philcox, known as Lyne, fled the family home, taking the children with her. It is understood that Mr Philcox was facing legal action this week.

Neighbours on the Windmill Hill estate spoke of a violent and erratic man who was facing divorce proceedings.

They had seen him happily playing football with his children on Friday evening, but one had heard him complain: “I have lost my wife, I have lost my job and I have lost my kids. I am now going to lose my house. I would rather burn the house down than give it to that f****** bitch.”

Another described how Mrs Philcox had complained that she was frightened of him and of what he was capable of doing. Others suggested that she had complained to police of his violence, and that he used to beat Ryan McAuliffe, her 19-year-old son by her first marriage. Last night it emerged that police used a controlled explosion to “neutralise” a suspect package that Mr McAuliffe had received in the post.

Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jones, of North Wales Police, said that the father and children had died of carbon monoxide poisoning. There were no signs of any other injuries. on their bodies. He said: “We cannot speculate on the motives.” Matt O’Connor, the founder of Fathers4Justice, said: “We believe that the man had been in touch with us seeking help.”

He added: “Our message has to be, ‘Do not give up hope’.”

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