- Convicted burglar Michael Coyle tried to sell it for £183
- It will cost villagers £5,000 to replace
By
Emily Allen
Last updated at 8:50 PM on 15th December 2011
A yob was branded ‘despicable’ by a magistrate who jailed him for trying to sell a 90-year-old World War One memorial plaque.
Convicted burglar Michael Coyle, 40, was caught on CCTV last July trying to sell the plaque for £183.30 to a scrap dealer after an unknown accomplice had wrenched it off the monument.
Unemployed Coyle even tried to claim he never knew he was selling a stolen war memorial.
The bronze plaque had been in place since 1921 after the community of Willaston, Cheshire, raised £1,130 to install it on their memorial outside Christ Church.
‘Despicable’: Michael Coyle was caught trying to sell a World War One memorial plaque to a scrape dealer. He has jailed for nine weeks
It listed 34 heroes from their village who had
sacrificed their lives in the Great War.
Fortunately, scrap dealers noticed the plaque was emblazoned with the words ‘In memory of those who lost their lives’ and alerted police.
The crime upset locals so much that in July schoolchildren designed their own plaques so the monument could still be used for last month’s Remembrance Sunday parade.
Yesterday, Coyle, who admitted handling stolen goods, was jailed for nine weeks.
Magistrates in Chester were told that he has since refused to tell police whatever happened to the still missing giant metal plate.
Chairman Michael Trevor-Barnston told Coyle: ‘This was a particularly despicable offence and we found it hard to believe that you did not know what you had in your possession.
‘The World War One memorial was of great sentimental value and meaning to the community.
‘You have previous convictions for dishonesty and you failed to help police recover the plaque, causing shock and abhorrence to the families and loved ones.
‘You are being sentenced to custody for rehabilitation and a deterrent for others.’
The court heard Coyle, a single man with no children, lived with his mother in Little Neston, on the Wirral, and had previous convictions, including burglary last February, when he escaped with a community order and a curfew.
He currently still owes the courts over £1,000 in unpaid fines and costs from previous brushes with the law.
The theft took place in July and and the sandstone monument was damaged in the process.
The plaque has never been recovered but within 48 hours of the theft Coyle was caught on CCTV driving his mother’s car into a local yard and offering it as scrap.
Prosecutor Sue Gibson explained: ‘He told the proprietor he had some scrap metal to weigh in. It was 39 kilos of bronze.
Upset: Reverend Raymond Dent of Christ Church, Willaston, Cheshire standing next to the memorial which is without its two plaques
‘But the scrap dealer saw the words written on it and refused to go ahead with the sale, confronting the defendant who apologised and said an old guy had given it to him.
‘His registration was noted and given to police who arrested him two days later. He made no comment at all.
‘This incident has caused a lot of concern in the local community – the shock and insensitivity has be felt.’
The court was told Coyle was asked to help in the recovery of the plaque but he refused.
It is estimated to replace the bronze plaque will cost around £5,000, and up to £7,000 in total if you include the damage to the monument it was mounted on.
So far local appeals have raised over £1,000 in donations.
Chris Hunt, defending, admitted his client had been ‘unbelievably stupid’ and was not ‘seeking to desecrate or denigrate the memory of those lives lost.’
Mr Hunt added: ‘He has genuine remorse for what he has done. He is well aware of the sacrifices made by his ancestors and everybody else’s.
‘Nobody is going to argue that the desecration of a public monument that stood for close to 100 years to remember those that died in the war is anything but abhorrent.
‘This type of crime is something the Government are looking into at the moment. There are campaigns against this sort of thing.’
Highlighting a Facebook campaign of abuse against Coyle over his sickening crime, Mr Hunt added: ‘What you do to him is a fraction of the punishment he will receive in a campaign of vilification against him.’
Coyle was sentenced to nine weeks in jail and no orders were made for him to pay any costs or fines.
The sentencing came days after the Government announced a £5 million crackdown on memorial thefts.
Les Torry, head of a local veterans’ association, was delighted Coyle was jailed and said: ‘He’s a disgrace for what he did.’
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NINE WEEKS! It should have been nine years. What an absolute scumbag.
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His mother must be really proud.
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The lowest form of scum!
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The pond-life should remain in prison until he spills the beans on what happened to the plaque.
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What a pathetic sentence! Not even order to pay back money to replace what he had stolen. No wonder crime is out of control in the UK. You get the justice you deserve. This would never happen in Australia.
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Go to your local court, you will always hear the defendant’s solicitor, paid by legal aid, say his client is full of remorse. None of them are that full of remorse that they hand themself in to the local police station. Thery only become full of remorse after they have ben caught!
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It’s a shame they couldn’t send him off to war.
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The Attorney General,s Office should appeal this light sentence from 9 weeks to 9 years.
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How about this for a radical idea? Keep him in jail until he tells where he has hidden the giant metal plate?
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9 weeks – should have been 9-months.
When these people go on trail; the british community should show their disproval outside the courts before sentencing! Maybe make some Liberal judges thing again before awarding a lax sentence!!!
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