Newcastle explosion: Full victim statement from mother of killed seven-year-old

A drug dealer who caused the death of a seven-year-old boy in an explosion while making cannabis gummy sweets has been jailed.

Reece Galbraith, 33, was sent to prison for 14 years for the manslaughter of young Archie York and of Galbraith’s friend, 35-year-old Jason Laws.

Galbraith and Laws had been making cannabis shatter – a concentrated form of the drug used to manufacture cannabis gummies – in the flat underneath the home Archie shared with his parents and baby brother, Finley.

The subsequent blast destroyed multiple homes.

Archie’s mother, Katherine Errington, sobbed as she confronted Galbraith in Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday.

Here is her full victim impact statement:

“On the 16th of October 2024 my entire world was shattered, literally and irreversibly. I went to bed that night a proud and happy mother-of-two.

“My seven-week-old baby boy Finley was asleep beside me. My partner of 12 years, Robbie, was in the living room with our beautiful seven-year-old son, Archie.

“Everything about that night felt normal until it became the worst moment of my life. I woke up buried under rubble, dazed, bleeding and terrified.

“Our flat had been blown apart. I didn’t know where my children were or if they were even alive. I’ve since learned I was likely knocked unconscious by the explosion.

“When I came around all I could do was scream Robbie’s name and try to move the bricks off my whole body, I could not. I only managed to move one foot out of the rubble so Robbie could identify where I was.

“While being buried Finley stopped crying, all I wanted to do was give up, I closed my eyes and opened them repeatedly hoping I’d wake up from what I thought was a nightmare, I thought Finley was unalive, I could hear nothing, only chaos.

“I can still smell the burning, still feel the panic and desperation. Robbie and a neighbour, Anthony pulled myself and Finley out of the ruins but we couldn’t find Archie.

“For hours I didn’t know where my son was. I clung to hope. I begged God to let him be okay but later in the hospital, what felt like hours, we were told the truth, Archie was gone.

“The force of the explosion was so horrific that we couldn’t even lay him to rest for nearly three months. We weren’t allowed to see him, hold him or to kiss him goodbye.

“We were forced to identify our son by the few remains they could confirm to be Archie, dental records, pictures, pyjamas he had on that night. It broke us in ways I didn’t know were possible.

“Archie was our first born. He was cheeky, kind, full of life and dreams. He talked about growing up, having girlfriends and all the things he wanted to do.

“He should be here now, playing with his brother, going to school, being a child. Instead, we visit all of his favourite places without him.

“All we have is memories that we will hold onto forever. Since that night I’ve barely slept. I sleep with Archie’s pyjamas just to feel close to him.

“I hear phantom cries of Finley in the quiet. I keep the TV or music on all the time because silence brings the memories rushing back.

“I have flashbacks, I feel constant guilt, survivors’ guilt. I’ve lost who I used to be. The bubbly, outgoing woman I once was, gone.

“I’m just surviving for Finley. We lost everything in the explosion, our home, our belongings and precious memories we can never get back.

“Archie’s baby drawings, his first tooth, certificates, even silly little notes, gone. Our beloved dog Chase who we all adored died in the blast too.

“All of it wiped out in a second. We spent months living out of bags, relying on donations, trying to protect Finley while drowning in grief and through it all our trauma was made public.

“People filmed us while we screamed for help. The media followed our story. Constant police interaction. We can’t grieve in peace.

“This was not an accident. This was a choice, your choice Reece Galbraith. You brought gas canisters into a building where families lived.

“You ran a drug operation under the floor my children slept. You took risks for profit and didn’t care who might’ve been hurt. You killed my son.

“You didn’t just take Archie from us. You stole our peace, our safety, our home and our future.

“My partner and I often say the only reason we’re still here is because of Finley. That’s how broken we are.

“We are not who we used to be. We are the parents of a child who was killed in his own home while he slept.

“No sentence will ever bring our boy back. No justice can fill the hole he left but I need you all to know the depth of the devastation that Reece and Jason caused.

“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.”