Michael Coyle has been sentenced to nine weeks in prison for trying to sell a war memorial plaque that he stole from a Cheshire church.
The memorial is going to cost £7,000 to replace and has still not been found since Coyle and an unknown accomplice stole it in July.
The copper panel, which honours men who died in both World Wars, was taken from Christ Church in Willaston.
Relatives of those honoured on the memorial said that Coyle was a “disgrace”.
The jobless thief was caught on camera trying to sell the 5ft by 3ft bronze memorial.
Scrap metal merchants were suspicious when Coyle brought the plaque in to sell. When they asked how he came to have it, he insisted that an 'old guy' had given it to him.
Cheshire Police Constable Ruth Purdie told the BBC: "The soaring value of metal during the economic downturn has meant that many places of worship have become targets for thieves with no respect for the consequences".