Ex-army man kills children

A former army sergeant, who survived an IRA bomb blast, has stabbed his two children to death before killing himself.

The bodies of Michael, 51, Ben, 7, and Freya Pedersen, 6, were found next to a Saab 900SE convertible car in the tiny lane at Newton Stacey, near Andover, Hampshire, at 6.15pm yesterday.

Mr Pedersen was a former army sergeant in the Household Cavalry unit that was hit by an IRA nail bomb in Hyde Park in 1982.

Hampshire police said the “tragic” incident happened while Pedersen was on an arranged visit with the two children from his estranged wife.