The mother of seven-year-old Archie York says she is “heartbroken” and “can’t live her life without him” as her son’s killer is jailed for manslaughter.
Archie was killed in a blast that tore through six houses in Violet Close, Newcastle, in October last year.
The family were sleeping in an upstairs flat when a secret cannabis lab, that was operating underneath their home, exploded.
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“I felt as if I’d got thrown up in the air, and collapsed back down on rubble,” Archie’s mother, Katherine Errington, told Sky News.
“I was lying on debris, I didn’t know where I was. I closed my eyes and kept opening them repeatedly, thinking ‘this is a nightmare. Why am I not waking up?’
“And the reality was, the nightmare was my life.”
Ms Errington, her baby son Finley and her partner survived the blast – but they could not find Archie among the rubble.
Later, in hospital, the family were told he had not survived.
“I just remember screaming,” Ms Errington said. “I was clinging on, hoping that he’d found himself a little hole and kept himself safe.”
Forensics officers spent two months at the scene, picking through the debris.
Their home was completely destroyed in the impact, with the family unable to go back in during the investigation.
She said: “We weren’t allowed to see Archie, to hold his hand, to have those memories that we lost. We lost everything – his pictures, his drawings.
“We had him cremated because the way I see it – I was buried,” Ms Errington said. “And it’s not nice. So I didn’t want to put my son in the ground.”
Seven months on from the explosion, Ms Errington said the family was still “heartbroken”.
She told Sky News: “I can’t live my life without Archie. He was just the perfect little boy. Loved his family, loved his friends.
“It’s just so hard. He was a part of us.”
Reece Galbraith, 33, has now been jailed for 14 years for manslaughter.
He was running the cannabis lab with 35-year-old Jason Laws, who was also killed in the explosion.
‘So, so dangerous’
The pair were making a cannabis concentrate known as butane honey oil – or shatter – which can be used in vapes and cannabis gummies.
It is made using butane gas to extract the oils from the plants, which police say was the source of the explosion.
The senior investigating officer on the case, DCI Katie Smith from Northumbria Police, told Sky News they are seeing a rise in shatter factories, not just in the North East but across the country.
“It’s so, so dangerous,” she said. “Butane – you can’t see it, can’t smell it. The amount of butane – it doesn’t take much.”
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In Violet Close, police recovered equipment, including over 70 butane canisters.
The impact of the explosion destroyed six houses and displaced over 100 people.
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“In my 24 years service, I’ve never seen anything like this,” DCI Smith said.
The type of butane canisters used in Violet Close are easily bought in shops or online.
Calls for law change
Ms Errington says she now wants to see the law changed to restrict their sale – including a limit on the amount of canisters that can be purchased at once, or mandating ID checks on people buying them.
“My son lost his life for people’s stupidity,” she said. “If this is what I can do to prevent more families going through what I’ve gone through – that’s enough for me.
“That will keep Archie’s name going strong.”
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Asked about restricting the sale of butane canisters, the government told Sky News: “We were sorry to hear of Archie’s death and we send our condolences to his family and friends following this tragic accident.
“Any consumer product placed on the UK market must be safe and producers must ensure their products comply with strict laws to ensure human safety.”
