Daniel Vincent Homan, 24, of Bligh Street, Oberon appeared before magistrate Michael Allen in Bathurst Local Court on Monday.

The court heard that at around 9pm on January 23, Homan - along with a co-accused - allegedly stole 55 sheets of corrugated roofing iron, which was the property of St Barnabas’ Church at Oberon.

The 55 sheets of iron were 3.9 metres long, about 85 cm wide, silver in colour and worth $3407, the court heard.

They were purchased by the church to replace the existing roof and had been placed on the ground outside the church before the work began.

The court heard some time between 9pm and 9.30pm on Saturday, January 23, Homan and the co-accused attended the house of a friend and asked to borrow his trailer.

The friend told the pair it was unregistered but they said they needed to borrow it to move some cupboards and attached the trailer to back of co-accused’s Commodore utility.

The court heard Homan and the co-accused then traveled to St Barnabas’ Anglican Church on Oberon Street, Oberon and parked the car alongside the iron.

The straps holding the sheets were cut using hand tools and an iron ridge cap on top of the sheet  was moved.

The court heard that during this process Homan cut himself, leaving blood which was later confirmed to be his using DNA profiling.

With all 55 sheets loaded onto the back of the trailer Homan and the co-accused allegedly left the scene, but shortly after one of the trailer’s tyres blew under the weight of the iron.

The loud noise prompted a man in a nearby house to go and have a look what was happening and he saw Homan and the co-accused working frantically to reload the roofing onto the trailer.

Despite having blown a tyre, they drove off.

When interviewed by police, the co-accused denied any involvement in the theft, as did Homan.

Homan was  convicted by Mr Allen and imprisoned for six months from June 20, 2016.