Benwell 1 year on - Archie York nature trail tribute
Last updated 16th Oct 2025
A beloved Newcastle schoolboy killed in a tragic explosion one year ago will be honoured with a lasting tribute.
Seven-year-old Archie York lost his life in the blast that destroyed his family home in Violet Close, Benwell, and devastated a community on October 16 last year.
12 months on from the horrific incident, which was caused by an illegal drugs lab, it has been announced that fun-loving Archie will be remembered through a poignant new project aimed at creating a place of comfort for his family, friends, and people across Tyneside.
Newcastle City Council will help the York family create Archie’s Nature Trail around the Parish Ponds in Woolsington, where he enjoyed exploring with his parents, baby brother, and their golden retrievers.
Mum Katherine Errington told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she wants the outdoor trail, which it is hoped can be decorated with artwork featuring her son’s favourite Marvel superheroes, to be a place that Archie’s schoolmates can enjoy visiting and will help them remember his joyful spirit.
She said: “It is something personal. Even people who didn’t know Archie will be able to know what a fun-loving chap he was by going on that trail.”
28-year-old Katherine and Archie’s dad Robbie York survived the explosion alongside baby son Finley, who she describes as a “total miracle” and a “rock that keeps the family going.”
But their lives were forever changed by Archie’s death and a crime that left them “sickened”.
Speaking ahead of the anniversary of the tragedy, Katherine said that going back to the site of their former home is “really hard” and that they have worked with Newcastle City Council to find a fitting place elsewhere to celebrate Archie’s life.
She told the LDRS: “We still feel so empty. With it being October 15 today Wednesday, that was the last time we spent as a family together. That was the last normal day. I just cannot believe it is a year, with everything that has gone on.”
Katherine added: “Going down to Violet Close is really hard for myself, Robbie, and the family. Yes, we have loads of happy memories there but it ended on a horrific one. Robbie was conscious most of the night, he helped get me and Finley out. Every time we look at it now it is just that big empty space, and we just see us not being able to get Archie out on that night.”
City council leader Karen Kilgour said that the creation of Archie’s Nature Trail, which it is hoped can be completed in time for what would have been his ninth birthday next May, was a chance to build “something positive from a crime that caused needless devastation”.
Coun Kilgour said: “Archie’s death was a tragedy for our city, and our hearts remain with Katherine, Robbie, Finley, and all who loved him. By supporting the family in creating this nature trail, we hope to ensure Archie’s memory lives on in a way that brings people together, celebrates his love of nature, and offers a space for reflection and joy.
“This is also an opportunity for our community to reclaim something positive from a crime that caused needless devastation. We will continue to work closely with the York family, Woolsington Parish Council, the landowners and the Parish Ponds Project to help to bring this vision to life.”
Drug dealer Reece Galbraith was jailed for 14 years for causing the explosion while using butane gas to produce ‘cannabis shatter’.
Galbraith had been using the flat below Archie’s home as a “highly dangerous” drugs lab alongside friend Jason Laws, who was also killed in the blast.
Katherine says that her focus now is to “make sure no other family goes through what we have” and is working with city authorities to help spread knowledge of shatter labs and their potentially lethal consequences.
The council and the Safe Newcastle Partnership are creating a training resource aimed at raising national awareness of cannabis shatter and how to spot the signs of a possible lab, which includes a “powerful” personal story from Archie’s family.
Katherine said: “You just feel sickened by it all, that some people can choose to make shatter, choose to do illegal activity knowing full well that families were living upstairs. They would have heard Archie running around on the floorboards, knowing that he was up and playing. They would have heard Finley crying and known he was there.
“Our next door neighbour had a little girl. They didn’t care, all they cared about was making a profit.”