Man guilty of trying to sell memorial is jailed

Dec 21 2011 by Liam Murphy, Heswall News

A MAN who admitted trying to sell a stolen war memorial from a monument in Wirral has been jailed for nine weeks.

Michael Coyle, 40, of Mellock Lane, in Little Neston, had admitted handling stolen goods after the memorial from Christ Church, in Willaston, was stolen in July.

Chester Magistrate, Michael Trevor-Barnston, said the World War I plaque was of “great sentimental value and meaning to the community”.

He said Coyle had “failed to assist” in retrieving the missing plaque, which, along with a World War Two plaque also stolen, had never been recovered, and the theft had been “shocking and abhorrent to the community”.

Prosecutor Sue Gibson told the court the plaque had last been seen in situ on July 27, and was reported stolen three days later.

Miss Gibson said the memorial bronze, which measured around five foot by three foot, had cost £1,130 to erect in 1921, but would be around £5,000 to replace now, plus the cost of repairs.

She said Coyle had attempted to sell some metal at an Ellesmere Port scrapyard, and was offered £183 until someone spotted it had “In memory of those who lost their lives” inscribed on it, and the sale was cancelled.

Miss Gibson said the man at the scrapyard “confronted the defendant who apologised and said “an old guy gave it to him” before taking it away. She said Coyle was traced from CCTV showing the car he had driven to the yard, and police went to his home and arrested him.

She said: “This incident has caused a lot of concern.”

She added: “The defendant has been asked several times whether he is prepared to name the person from whom he received the plaque,” but added that he was “not prepared to help”.

Defending, Christopher Hunt told the court Coyle was faced with threats of “unspeakable violence” if he named the person who gave him the plaque to sell and also that he and his parents were being subjected to a “campaign of vilification online and on the streets” following his arrest.

Mr Hunt said his client had been “stupid, naive and unsophisticated” and he had “genuine remorse” over the incident, and added: “No one is going to argue that the desecration of a public monument like this is anything other than abhorrent.”

But he argued that magistrates needed to separate out the theft of the plaques from the charge against his client of handling stolen goods. He said: “Mr Coyle is not here facing charges of wrenching this memorial from its place. His involvement is distinctly minor in comparison.”

Sentencing him, Mr Trevor-Barnston said it was a “particularly despicable offence” which caused “emotional distress to the community”.