AN eleven-year-old boy and his 17-year-old sister tried to kill themselves last night, by throwing themselves from a footbridge. They said they could no longer live with their abusive father.

The two, who fled their home in On Ting Estate, Tuen Mun on Thursday night, said their father beat them and was a gambler.

The girl left a note saying: 'We failed to find any love at home and it is a tiny flat. So I decided to run away with my little brother. Please don't look for us. We aren't in the earth.' A passer-by called police when he spotted the pair standing on the edge of the Tai Ho Road footbridge. The pair were persuaded to jump on to an air cushion.