LITTLE ARCHIE YORK WAS FAST ASLEEP IN HIS BED WHEN CANNABIS DEALER, REECE GALBRAITH CAUSED A DEVASTATING EXPLOSION KILLING HIM AND GALBRAITH'S PAL, JASON LAWS IN NEWCASTLE 12:30, 14 May

2025Updated 13:10, 14 May 2025 The parents of a seven-year-old boy killed in a cannabis gummy explosion have said they will "never forgive" the dealers who snatched him away.

Archie York was sleeping when he was killed in his own home after the blast was caused in the flat below by men using it as a "drugs lab" by processing cannabis into sweets. Reece

Galbraith admitted the manslaughter of little Archie and Galbraith's friend, 33-year-old Jason “Jay” Laws, in the blast in Violet Close, Benwell, Newcastle, in the early hours of

Archie's devastated mum Katherine Errington, shouted “you killed my son” in a heartbreaking victim impact statement. She sobbed: “All we have are memories we will hold onto forever.

Since that day I barely sleep. I sleep with his pyjamas just to feel close to him.” Article continues below “This was not a choice, this was your choice Reece Galbraith. You took gas

canisters into a building where families lived. “You ran a drug operation under the flat where my children slept. “You took risks for profit and didn’t care who might be hurt. “You killed my

son. You stole our peace and safety. “We are not who we used to be. “Archie was loved beyond words and is missed beyond measure. He was more than a name in a case. He was our sunshine, our

joy, our heart and our son. “We will never forgive you and Jason for what you did to our beautiful boy Archie or to us.” Northumbria Police launched a major inquiry following the devastating

explosion and discovered that the flat operated by Galbraith and Laws was used as a “drugs lab” to produce cannabis concentrates – known as “shatter” or “butane honey oil” in a highly

dangerous process. The product was then turned into cannabis edibles, also known as “gummies”. Archie had been asleep on the sofa when the blast ripped through the home he shared with

parents Katherine Errington and Robbie York and his baby brother Finley. His mother previously told the Newcastle Chronicle news site: “As a parent and as a mother you try your best to keep

your children safe, and that was took out of my hands. “When they are in the house, that’s supposed to be the safest place.” Galbraith was lucky to survive the explosion, a previous court

hearing was told. Prosecutor David Brooke KC said Laws had been using the flat for months and there was “little purpose” for it other than the production of cannabis. The court heard

Galbraith, Laws’ partner in the “enterprise”, was found walking away from the street immediately after the explosion asking about his friend. He suffered extensive burns and was in hospital

for about a month, initially in an induced coma. Mr Brooke said Galbraith had been at the flat since about 6pm the previous evening and his fingerprint was found on one of the butane bottles

at the property. A bag containing packages of cannabis sweets was found in Laws’ car which had both Law’s and Galbraith’s DNA on some of the packets. The court heard Galbraith had texted

his girlfriend at 11pm that night describing how he “got squirted in the eye” when he “tilted the gas”, saying it was like “dry ice”. At the time of the explosion, Galbraith was already

being investigated for being concerned in the supply of cannabis, after police stopped his car in April and found cannabis bush, a set of scales and cannabis sweets. Officers later found 250

cannabis sweets, moulds and 300g of a sweet mixture when they searched his house. He was released pending further investigation. Police also found evidence on his phone that he was dealing

in cannabis and cannabis sweets “full-time” with Laws from at least as far back as November 2023. In one message he told a customer “There’s guna be 4 flavours cherry/sour

apple/strawberry/banana and making them tonight or tomorrow just prepping sh*t haha but should be just as strong as usual”. Experts found that the explosion was caused by the ignition of

liquid butane gas, which had been released and built up within the premises as part of the illegal “shatter” production. More than 100 butane canisters were found in the flat, Mr Brooke

said, as well as other “sophisticated and expensive” equipment”. The prosecutor said: “The process of making shatter is inherently dangerous because butane is highly flammable. “It is a

process that has to be done with the utmost care to avoid an explosion. “When the liquid butane gas escapes, the odourless gas sinks towards the ground because it is heavier than air, and

can accumulate in a confined space such as a flat. “It is dangerous even to store butane bottles inside let alone use the liquid gas in a process like this. The liquid gas will expand a

nominal 230 times as it becomes gas. “Ignition makes the gas expand by a further factor of eight. The failure and ignition of a single bottle of butane would have been too much for the size

of the living room in the property.” The court heard the blast had had “an enormous impact locally” and 10 households had to be permanently rehoused. More than 100 people were displaced to

temporary accommodation and 53 of the 80 residents will not be returning. The financial impact is said to be about £3.7 million. Richard Wright KC, mitigating for Galbraith, said: “This is

not a case in which Reece Galbraith, whatever else he’s done and how deplorable his conduct has been, set out to cause harm to any person, let alone to cause harm to Archie or to kill

anybody. “He is genuinely sorry for his role and the consequences of his actions.” Jailing Galbraith, the judge, Mr Justice Cotter, said: “Archie York was just a seven-year-old with a

wonderful and exciting life ahead of him. “His parents have so movingly explained, their world was shattered on October 16 when their flat was blown apart and they woke up buried under the

rubble, dazed, bleeding and terrified to realise their precious son had been lost.” He went on to say: “Violet Close was a close-knit, multi-racial community with many families that was

literally blown apart as a result of your illegal activities in their midst, regardless of the clear risks to others. Article continues below “You bear responsibility for all this loss and

destruction.” _FOR THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS AND STORIES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE FROM THE DAILY STAR, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTERS._