Latest news with #Benwell
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Council seeks to claw back fatal explosion cost
Council bosses will try to claw back some of the multimillion-pound cost to the public purse caused by a drugs lab explosion that killed a seven-year-old boy. Reece Galbraith was jailed this week for 14 years for causing the blast in Violet Close, Benwell, in Newcastle, in which Archie York and 35-year-old Jason Laws died last October. The site of the explosion will remain grassed-over until a consultation with Archie's family and the wider community on if the houses should be rebuilt, Newcastle City Council said. The authority also confirmed it would be seeking to claim back some of the estimated £3.7m of costs incurred by the incident on insurance. It is unclear at this stage how much it may be able to recoup or how long that might take, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. 'My son was killed by criminals making cannabis' Drug dealer who killed boy, 7, in explosion jailed Explosion community 'relieved but still in pain' After Galbraith's sentencing, the local authority said that the incident had an "enormous, confounding impact on the community, staff and all those involved and has drained finances and resources in what are already difficult times". Civic centre bosses estimated £1.5m has been spent on the management, demolition, and reinstatement of the scene of the explosion, as well as supporting displaced families – many of whom lost not only their home, but all of their personal belongings. The explosion in the early hours of 16 October saw 142 residents from 51 homes, evacuated. Twelve properties affected by the blast have since been demolished and ten households have been permanently rehoused. The council also estimated that rebuilding those 12 lost homes would cost it about £1.9m – though bosses have stressed that it would only do so "if and when the time feels right" and following consultation with Archie's family and the wider community. That area has been grassed over to create a "space for quiet reflection" before any further consideration of its future use. A loss of rent and council tax income makes up the remainder of the stated £3.7m cost and would not be covered by insurance. Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Explosion community 'relieved but still in pain' 'My son was killed by criminals making cannabis' Drug dealer who killed boy, 7, in explosion jailed Newcastle City Council
BBC News
18-05-2025
- BBC News
Newcastle City Council seeks to claw back Benwell explosion cost
Council bosses will try to claw back some of the multimillion-pound cost to the public purse caused by a drugs lab explosion that killed a seven-year-old Galbraith was jailed this week for 14 years for causing the blast in Violet Close, Benwell, in Newcastle, in which Archie York and 35-year-old Jason Laws died last site of the explosion will remain grassed-over until a consultation with Archie's family and the wider community on if the houses should be rebuilt, Newcastle City Council authority also confirmed it would be seeking to claim back some of the estimated £3.7m of costs incurred by the incident on insurance. It is unclear at this stage how much it may be able to recoup or how long that might take, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. 'My son was killed by criminals making cannabis' Drug dealer who killed boy, 7, in explosion jailedExplosion community 'relieved but still in pain' After Galbraith's sentencing, the local authority said that the incident had an "enormous, confounding impact on the community, staff and all those involved and has drained finances and resources in what are already difficult times".Civic centre bosses estimated £1.5m has been spent on the management, demolition, and reinstatement of the scene of the explosion, as well as supporting displaced families – many of whom lost not only their home, but all of their personal belongings. The explosion in the early hours of 16 October saw 142 residents from 51 homes, properties affected by the blast have since been demolished and ten households have been permanently rehoused. The council also estimated that rebuilding those 12 lost homes would cost it about £1.9m – though bosses have stressed that it would only do so "if and when the time feels right" and following consultation with Archie's family and the wider area has been grassed over to create a "space for quiet reflection" before any further consideration of its future use.A loss of rent and council tax income makes up the remainder of the stated £3.7m cost and would not be covered by insurance. Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- The Guardian
‘Cheeky, kind and full of life': Mum pays tribute to boy, seven, killed in drugs lab explosion as man jailed
A man operating a cannabis drugs lab which caused a devastating 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 told the Guardian 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.'
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
Archie York's mother remembers Benwell blast that killed her son
Seven-year-old Archie York was killed in a blast in Newcastle caused by his neighbour's illegal attempts to make cannabis sweets. As one of his killers is jailed, Archie's mother says her son's death should serve as a warning to other criminals. Shortly before 01:00 BST on 16 October, the slumbering streets of Benwell were rent by the roar of an enormous Errington had been asleep in her bedroom with her seven-week-old son Finley, when the pair were suddenly bombarded with and buried beneath the walls and contents of their initially thought she was having a nightmare, but the taste of blood in her mouth quickly confirmed this was all too real. The utter panic and confusion was replaced by a realisation she was trapped beneath the debris of her could hear her baby son crying but could not find him in the darkness and destruction - his cries soon gave way to a chilling silence. "I closed my eyes," Katherine recalls. "I thought 'if my son's gone, as in unalive, I'll close my eyes and whatever happens I'll not remember it, I'll be asleep'."Then she heard the shouts of her partner Robbie, desperately searching for her and their baby, and she called back to him so he could zero in on her managed to push her foot through the bricks into the dust-filled air, Robbie seizing it gratefully and starting to frantically dig her out, also, miraculously, finding Finley alive and pulling him to safety."I got out and looked at where my flat was supposed to be," she says. "There was nothing left of it." The street outside had rapidly filled with neighbours and emergency services, with Katherine and her baby quickly rushed away for medical was at the hospital where police officers told her the explosion had been even more devastating than she had imagined. Her eldest son, Archie, was "gone".The last time she had seen him, her "perfect little boy" and Robbie had been asleep on the living room settee. Seven-year-old Archie had been the dictionary definition of a "mischievous cheeky boy", his mum says. "He was just a normal, happy little boy."He loved superheroes, computer games and school, where "everybody loved him", Katherine had been overjoyed at the arrival of Finley almost two months earlier, wanting to feed him and change his nappies, maturing overnight into a proper big brother."It was just how a family should be," Katherine recalls. "It was the best seven weeks of my life." Within seconds, several houses on Violet Close were practically demolished and a huge fire was raging, with more than 100 people having to be evacuated from their suspicions were that it was a gas leak, a faulty boiler somewhere, but investigators quickly honed in on the activities of Katherine and Robbie's downstairs neighbour, 35-year-old Jason Laws, who was also killed in the blast, and his associate Reece Galbraith. "The scene was hell for almost two months," Det Ch Insp Katie Smith of Northumbria Police says, detailing the "harrowing" finger-tip searches officers had to make in the rubble in the days and weeks after the blast.A suspiciously large number of butane cannisters were discovered scattered throughout the debris which, along with other industrial items such as a vacuum oven, indicated a factory making so-called shatter - a glassy-type substance used to form cannabis sweets - was operating in one of the blast was caused by a build-up of the highly flammable butane, the gas used in the production process, which was taking place while the neighbours all slept peacefully nearby. "The dangers go without saying," Det Ch Insp Smith says. "[Galbraith and his associates] knew about the risks that night, it says on the side of the gas cannister how highly flammable it is. "They disregarded that to make some money from drugs. "It caused utter devastation." For Katherine, finding out her son had been killed because of the illegal activities of a criminal neighbour only worsened her grief."It sickens me that it could have been prevented," she says. "You are supposed to trust your neighbours."This is more upsetting for us because someone chose to do that, it was their choice, not ours."The day she was burying her boy, 33-year-old Galbraith was in court denying being responsible for his death. It was only later, when confronted with the wealth of prosecution evidence against him including DNA, finger prints and mobile phone data, that Galbraith changed his plea and admitted initial denials caused further pain and consternation for Katherine."He's got no compassion whatsoever, no remorse for anything he has done," she says. She says her life now is indescribable, the shock and grief at the loss of Archie still never would have thought the routine of kissing her son goodnight and laying out his school clothes for the next morning would be obliterated in such a violent manner. But she is also keen to ensure he is remembered for being the "funny little cheeky boy" who "touched so many hearts" rather than for the way he was is also keen other criminals heed what happened."This should be enough to stop anyone trying to do any illegal activities," she says."[Galbraith] has now got a seven-year-old's death on his hands from his choice."Neither Katherine nor Robbie ever saw a future without son was going to be a rock for Finley, but the baby is now an only child with no memory of the brother who doted on him."I don't think we will ever move on from this," Katherine says. "That day is going to haunt us to the day we die." Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
14-05-2025
- The Independent
Mother's warning as cannabis gummy factory explosion that killed boy caught on camera
An explosion caught on camera that killed a seven-year-boy and a 35-year-old man happened when butane gas ignited during the 'highly dangerous' process of producing so-called cannabis shatter in a small flat. Archie York died when butane gas used to make the toffee-like resin exploded, wrecking a block of 12 flats in the Benwell area of Newcastle last year. Archies mother has said it is 'sickening' that her son died because of cannabis shatter and pleaded to anyone involved in the 'horrible process' to stop immediately. Detective Chief Inspector Katie Smith added that anyone making shatter needed to 'think again' before more lives are lost. Drug dealer Reece Galbraith, filmed in the arrest video released by Northumbria Police, has been jailed for 14 years.
