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A man operating a cannabis drugs lab which caused an explosion in a terraced street has been jailed for 14 years for the deaths of two people, including a seven-year-old boy.
The boy, Archie York, was asleep in the flat above the drugs lab being run by Reece Galbraith, 33, when the blast happened in the Benwell area of Newcastle in the early hours of 16 October 2024.
In an emotional statement at Newcastle crown court, Archie’s mother, Katherine Errington, described her pain at losing a son who was “cheeky, kind, full of life and dreams”.
She sobbed as she told Galbraith he had stolen her family’s peace and safety and killed her son.
“You brought gas canisters into a building where families lived. You ran a drugs operation under the floor where my children slept. You took risks for profit and didn’t care who got hurt. You killed my son.”
Also killed in the blast was Jason Laws, 35, who was operating the drug lab with Galbraith.
Galbraith pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Archie and Laws and possessing and supplying cannabis. He was jailed on Wednesday for 14 years.
With Laws, Galbraith was using highly dangerous extraction processes in a small flat to produce cannabis concentrates, known as “shatter” or “butane honey oil”. The product is then turned into gummy sweets, aimed at young people and children, the court heard.
Speaking before the sentencing, Errington said she had never heard of cannabis shatter factories. She now wants to make sure more people know about them.
“I’m going to be Archie’s voice and I’m going to try to make sure that no other family goes through what we have gone through,” she said.
Errington and partner, Robbie York, both 27, lived in the flat with their children Archie and his baby brother, Finley.
She said Archie was a funny, fun-loving boy. “He was just starting to enjoy school and starting to get confident, like putting his hand up and answering questions. He really loved being a big brother to Finley.”
Archie adored going to Five Guys and watching Netflix with his dad. “He used to watch Dexter and stuff, he was just starting to get into that with Robbie. He said, ‘when I grow up I want to be a policeman and arrest the bad guys.’”
Describing the night of the explosion, Errington said she was asleep when she heard “a high pitched squealing noise” and had the sensation of being elevated in the air and crashing back down again.
She was covered in rubble and bricks. “I was screaming for help. I knew I was outside because I could feel the cold, I didn’t know where I was. I could feel bricks, I had loads of bricks on top of me. I could taste blood. Then Finley stopped crying … I didn’t know where he was. I just started to close my eyes and I thought, well, if he’s gone, I’m going to go with him.”
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.”
Addressing Galbraith, he said: “A close-knit, multiracial community with many families was literally blown apart as a result of your illegal activities in their midst, regardless of the clear risks to others. You bear responsibility for all this loss and destruction.”
More than 100 butane gas canisters were found after the blast.
The explosion affected dozens of families with more than 100 people displaced to temporary accommodation. The court heard many residents will not be returning.
The financial impact is said to be about £3.7m.
DCI Katie Smith, of Northumbria police, said Galbraith was left with little choice other than to plead guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence.
“The illegal activity he was carrying out – creating cannabis ‘shatter’ – is exceptionally dangerous to those involved and anyone else nearby.
“The tragic loss of life in this case should be more than enough to make anyone considering doing this to think again.”
