Wayne Joselyn, 43, has been jailed at Sheffield Crown Court after disturbing a plot in Carlton Cemetery near Barnsley in April last year during which he penetrated the coffin with a spade and dug down to a depth of 3ft.

The grave was where a married couple named Kell and Maud Goodwin had been laid to rest in the early 1980s, and Mrs Goodwin’s remains were damaged and had to be exhumed as part of a police investigation.

The police were able to build a case against Joselyn because he had left a snood with his DNA on in the grave.

Joselyn is already serving a four-year prison sentence imposed for burglary by the same court last September, and has now had another 15 months added to his jail term.

His defence counsel said he was ‘divorced from reality’ and addicted to drugs at the time of the offence, but had not targeted the family specifically and had expressed remorse. He pleaded guilty to damaging property and causing a public nuisance.

Surrounding graves were also damaged by his digging spree and Barnsley Council had to pay around £1,000 for repairs. The Goodwin family still visit the grave and had been left distressed by Joselyn’s actions and the exhumation.

Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Richardson said: “This has caused immense anguish to the family. There is no evidence to suggest the bizarre rumour about jewellery of firearms was true, and it is likely a figment of your drug-addled brain.

"This was a deliberate and pre-meditated act of depraved desecration. It had revulsed the public. Cemeteries are supposed to be a place of rest.”

Former Royal Marine who damaged human remains while digging into grave at Yorkshire cemetery 'looking for jewellery' is jailed