Selfish and merciless, Galbraith did not spare a thought for Archie or anyone else

KILLED as he slept in his own home, little Archie York's life was stolen in the place he should have been safest, and his death is one of the cruellest crimes I have ever come across.

- By SOPHIE DOUGHTY

As The Chronicle's crime reporter, it is my job to find words to describe the most tragic and heartbreaking losses caused by criminals across the North East. But there really are no words for what happened to Archie, or for the actions of Reece Galbraith, who caused his death. In more than 15 years doing this job I have worked with so many families devastated by the most horrendous crimes.

I've spent time with loved ones of murder victims, parents who have lost children to knife crime and people who have been victims of terrifying crimes themselves. You never become desensitised to it, but you learn to put your own feelings aside so you can do the best job possible in telling these brave people's stories.

But it's been nearly impossible to put any feelings aside when thinking about what happened to little Archie, who died when his home was destroyed in an explosion.

The fatal blast was caused by an illegal drugs lab set up in the flat below by Galbraith. And his actions make him one of the worst criminals I have come across.