A man who runs a marijuana drug lab has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for the explosion in a terraced street for the deaths of two people, including a seven-year-old boy.

The boy Archie York, who was in the early hours of October 16, 2024, broke out in the Benwell area of ​​Newcastle, when it broke out above a drug lab run by 33-year-old Reece Galbraith.

Archie's mother, Katherine Errington, described her pain in losing a son "a cheeky, kind, and full of life and dreams."

She sobbed when she told Galbraith that he stole peace and security from his family and killed his son.

"You brought the gas tank into a building where family lives. You performed a drug operation under the floor where my kids sleep. You risked and didn't care who was hurt. You killed my son."

Jason Laws, 35, was also killed in the explosion and is running the drug lab with Galbraith.

Galbraith pleaded guilty to Archie and Laws' manslaughter and possessed and provided marijuana. He was sentenced to 14 years in jail on Wednesday.

By law, Galbraith uses a highly dangerous extraction process in a small apartment to produce cannabis concentrates called "broken" or "butane honey oil". The product then turned into a fudge candy targeting young people and children, the court heard.

He said before the verdict, Ellington said she had never heard of a broken cannabis factory. She wants to make sure more people know them now.

“I will be the voice of Archie and I will try to make sure no other family goes through everything we go through,” she said.

Errington and partner Robbie York, 27, both lived in the apartment with their child Archie and his little brother Finley.

She said Archie was a funny, entertaining boy. "He's just started to enjoy going to school and started to become confident, like raising his hands and answering questions. He really likes to be Finley's older brother."

Archie worships five guys and looks at Netflix with his father. “He used to see Dexter and stuff, and he just started getting into that with Robbie. He said, ‘I grew up and wanted to be a cop and arrest bad guys.

In describing the night of the explosion, Errington said she fell asleep when she heard "high-pitched screams" and lifted up in the air and knocked down again.

She was covered in rubble and bricks. "I was screaming for help. I knew I was outside because I would feel the cold, I didn't know where I was. I could feel the bricks, I had a lot of bricks on my body. I could taste the blood. Finley stopped crying...I didn't know where he was. I just started to close my eyes. I just started to close my eyes and I thought, I thought, if he left, I'd go."

Judge Cotter Judge Galbraith was sentenced to jail.

"His parents explained in action that their world was blown up on October 16, when their apartment was blown up, they woke up and buried under rubble, drowsy, bleeding and fearful to realize that their precious son was lost."

Speaking at Galbraith, he said: “Because your illegal activities among them are related to the illegal activities of others, related to the illegal activities of others, and are far from the illegal activities of others, no matter what risks pose to others.

More than 100 butane gas tanks were found after the explosion.

The explosion affected dozens of families and more than 100 people were displaced from temporary accommodation. The court heard that many residents would not return.

The financial impact is said to be about £3.7 million.

DCI Katie Smith of the Northumbria Police Department said Galbraith had no choice but to plead guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence.

“The illegal activities he is doing – making marijuana ‘broken’ – are very dangerous to the participants and others nearby.

“In this case, a tragic loss of life should be enough to rethink anyone considering doing so.”