Explosion of a ‘highly dangerous’ drugs lab results in death of cannabis seller and a seven-year-old boy in the flat above.

A drug dealer who caused the death of a seven-year-old boy in an explosion while making cannabis gummy sweets was jailed for 14 years today.

Reece Galbraith and his friend Jason ‘Jay’ Laws were using a Newcastle flat as a drugs lab when a blast ripped through the building in the early hours of October 16.

The explosion killed Laws and Archie York, who was asleep in the flat above.

Galbraith, of Rectory Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, admitted two counts of manslaughter as well as possessing and supplying cannabis, at a hearing last month.

Today, he was jailed for 14 years at Newcastle Crown Court.

Archie’s mother, Katherine Errington, shouted ‘you killed my son’ at Galbraith as she read her victim impact statement in court.

She sobbed as she told the defendant: ‘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.’

The blast on Violet Close in Benwell wrecked the street and made families homeless.

The court heard it destroyed six out of the 12 flats in the block and was followed by a ‘fierce fire’ that caused so much damage the whole block has since been demolished.

Police investigating the explosion 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 was asleep on the sofa with his father when the blast ripped through the home he shared with his parents Katherine Errington and Robbie York, and his baby brother Finley.

Ms Errington was pulled out of the rubble by Mr York, who also found seven-week-old Finley, covered in dust but ‘astonishingly unharmed’, in the wreckage.

But Mr York could not find Archie and they were told later that he had died.

Ms Errington said she was ‘furious’ when she was informed within a week of Archie’s death that shatter was being made in the flat below.

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 s**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 £3.7million.

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.

‘You bear responsibility for all this loss and destruction.’

Detective Chief Inspector Katie Smith, who led the investigation into the blast, said the explosion was caused when butane gas ignited during the ‘highly dangerous’ process of producing so-called cannabis shatter in a small flat.

She added that anyone making shatter needed to ‘think again’ before more lives are lost.

Ms Smith said: ‘Archie had his whole life ahead of him. His family were upstairs in that flat that that night, not knowing what was beneath them.’

The detective said: ‘It was utter carnage.’

She added: ‘Two people lost their lives that night. Archie was asleep on the sofa when the explosion happened. Jason was part of the production of that cannabis.

‘Please, let this be a warning for anyone who wants to start doing this dangerous production of cannabis oil, to think again.’

Ms Smith said experts quickly ruled out a natural gas leak and searches of the debris established how the explosion was caused by a build up of the large quantities of butane gas used to make the shatter, which is also known as butane honey oil.

Ms Smith explained that this is a highly concentrated form of cannabis.

To make it, criminals wash over the cannabis flower with butane gas in a vacuum and it comes out as a liquid.

The liquid is then heated in an oven, to remove the butane smell and taste, before it is melted down again and mixed with gelatine, or sweets.

This is then put into moulds to make a toffee-like resin to sell on the streets, or the oil itself can be used in vapes, the detective explained.

The senior officer said: ‘It’s highly, highly dangerous. I urge anyone who even wants to think about doing this – either making it, producing it, selling it – to think again.

‘Cannabis shatters lives, and it has in this instance.’

Ms Smith said: ‘What they were doing that night was so, so dangerous, with no respect for the community, for the people who lived around that area – total disregard for them to make money through cannabis.

‘And I urge people, if they know of this happening in their community, they know that this is happening within their neighbourhoods, to contact the police or contact Crimestoppers.’

The officer urged the public to look out for anyone hoarding or discarding butane canisters, or going into properties with ovens, vacuums or odd-shaped equipment.

She said: ‘Now that we know what’s happened, I hope this is a stark reality check to anyone who is using cannabis or producing it, to stop and think about what you do.’

The senior officer said the incident had ‘a huge impact on that area, and I think probably a lasting impact on that area’.

Galbraith was arrested in April last year for alleged possession of drugs and was under investigation when the explosion happened.

He was badly burned and went to hospital for a number of weeks, the detective said.

Asked if Galbraith understood the enormity of what he had done, Ms Smith said: ‘I really hope he does. Archie’s family will never be the same.

‘The community in Benwell, and those people who have been displaced from their homes with nothing, will never be the same.’

Asked about Jason Laws’s involvement, she said: ‘Due to the evidence that we collated as part of the investigation, he would have been a suspect in this investigation if he had survived.’

Gale Gilchrist, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North East, said: ‘Today, our thoughts remain with the family of Archie York, whose tragic death last year shocked the community of Benwell.

‘The explosion which claimed his life was caused by a catastrophic build-up of butane gas in the downstairs neighbouring address used by Jason Laws, who was also killed in the blast.

‘Within that property, Reece Galbraith was part of an illegal operation producing a highly concentrated form of cannabis. This was an incredibly dangerous process involving the use of large quantities of highly flammable gas, which was being stored without appropriate ventilation on the premises.

‘The decision of those involved to conduct this operation in a busy residential area was completely reckless, and the tragic consequences of their actions have been utterly devastating.

‘The Crown Prosecution Service has worked closely with Northumbria Police to build a strong case against Galbraith, which has been instrumental in securing his sentence today.

‘We only hope that, for Archie York’s family, some solace can be taken in seeing Galbraith jailed for his actions.’

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Susan Dungworth added: ‘First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Archie York. No family should ever have to endure the pain of losing a child.

‘I would also like to pay tribute to the way Archie’s mum and dad have handled themselves throughout the investigation and subsequent court process – they’ve shown incredible bravery and dignity.

‘From the night of the fire through to today’s sentencing, my thanks go to our police and emergency service colleagues and local authority partners – all who have worked incredibly hard on this upsetting and challenging case.

‘Praise also goes to the community of Benwell and the strength shown through such a difficult time.

‘The lives lost at Violet Close will forever highlight not only the extreme dangers of cannabis extraction processes, but also the devastating consequences. 

‘I hope what happened serves as a powerful deterrent to others attempting to make ‘cannabis shatter’ at home and encourages anyone with any concerns about a property to make a report. We never want this to happen again and must do all we can to prevent it.’