A scrap metal dealer has been found guilty of cutting up stolen crematorium plaques at his south London yard.
Joseph Collier, 72, broke up hundreds of plaques from crematoriums across south east England in an attempt to sell the metal on.
Some were covered in mud and had wall plugs attached where they had been prized away, police said.
Officers spent hours putting them back together in order to identify where they had been stolen from.
Despite denying he knew anything about the plaques, police found CCTV footage of Collier cutting them up with his machines.
Police also discovered a Jesus Christ statue which had been stolen from Putney Vale cemetery after they raided Collier's site in Bensham Lane, Croydon in May 2012.
Collier, of Woodhall Drive, Dulwich, was found guilty of possession of criminal property; disguising criminal property and attempting to receive stolen goods following a six day trial at Croydon Crown Court.
He is due to be sentenced on November 3.
Sergeant George Shannon, who led the investigation for Croydon Police, said: "I can only describe Collier's attitude throughout this whole process as brazen.
"There was little doubt that he knew they were stolen and he had absolutely no regard for the law.
"His actions, in accepting stolen metal, have fuelled other criminal activity by thieves stealing metal to make a quick profit by selling it to unscrupulous scrap dealers like Collier."
