Three men arrested for manslaughter and making cannabis after house explosion kills boy

The scene at Violet Close in Benwell after the house explosion
The scene at Violet Close in Benwell after the house explosion - Owen Humphreys/PA

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and the production of cannabis following a house explosion in Newcastle which killed two people, including a seven-year-old boy, police said.

Archie York and Jason Laws, who was in his 30s, were killed following the incident at Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area of the city in October.

Two men in their 30s and a man in his 50s were arrested on suspicion of two counts of manslaughter and production of the Class B drug cannabis, Northumbria Police said.

All three men remain in police custody at this time.

Archie York
Archie York, 7, was killed in the the incident at Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area

Detective Chief Inspector Katie Smith said: “This has been a truly tragic incident which resulted in the loss of two lives.

“As a result of our ongoing enquiries, three men have today been arrested in connection with the explosion.

“Our investigation will remain ongoing as we seek to provide answers to what has happened.

“We would continue to ask people to avoid speculation surrounding this incident both online and in the community.”

In the early hours of Oct 16, a row of three council-owned properties was wrecked by a blast that killed two people and injured six more. The cause of the blast has yet to be established, but specialist gas engineers were sent to the scene.

A neighbour said at the time that a woman had complained to Newcastle city council about her boiler being faulty just two days before the explosion.

Archie was pronounced dead at the scene and a second body was found in the rubble the next day.

Jason Laws
Jason Laws was named as the second person to die in the explosion

Abbie York previously paid tribute to her seven-year-old nephew on social media as the “most beautiful, funny and caring little boy”.

She said: “Archie’s life was so tragically snatched from him in the early hours of the morning in the explosion in Benwell. My family are all so truly devastated and heartbroken beyond words by this and we would respect privacy at this time.

“Archie was my nephew and the most beautiful, funny, and caring little boy. His name deserves to be shouted from the rooftops! We all love you so much little man, you didn’t deserve this.”

‘It isn’t the same’

One resident at the scene said: “We knew the family very well and the two children. We want to know just as much as everyone else but we are just as much in the dark despite living there.”

The street was still cordoned off on Wednesday, with several police cars and vans present.

Flowers and balloons were placed near the site in memory of Archie and Jason. Spider-Man costumes and balloons spelling “Archie” were on display.

Anthony Usher, a doorman, said: “I was here when it happened. I ran inside the home to try and get the family out. […] I’m done with this street. It isn’t the same.”

One of the schoolboy’s neighbours, who declined to be named, previously called Archie a “lovely lad”.

“Everybody knew him,” the neighbour said. “He was a lovely lad. The family are in bits. Archie was always with his dad and he was playing outside a lot. You would see him with his two dogs.

“He went to a school just up the road from here. My kids are having nightmares about what happened.”