Boy named locally as Archie York

A seven-year-old boy who died in a house explosion has been named locally as Archie York.

The blast, which happened at about 00:45 BST on Wednesday, destroyed six flats on Violet Close in Benwell, Newcastle.

A body of a man, believed to be in his 30s, which was found in the rubble, is yet to be identified.

Abbie York, the boy’s aunt, told the BBC’s North of England correspondent Fiona Trott that he was “a loving boy, with a cheeky little grin on his face all of the time”.

The family had moved to the Benwell property just after Archie was born and the primary school pupil had been learning how to swim and enjoyed playing the violin, she said.

His parents and two month old brother had been treated in hospital and were now being looked after by relatives, she added.

Five adults and a child were also taken to hospital with varying degrees of injuries after the explosion, with all but one discharged following treatment.

A number of families were forced to flee their homes following the blast at the council-maintained property and are in temporary accommodation.

Cordons around the site are “expected to be in place for some time”, police said.

An investigation by emergency services and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the cause of the blast is under way.