THIS is the bizarre moment a thief scaled a Church wall before stealing the head of an 800-year old mummified knight.

Our exclusive CCTV shows ghoul Brian Bridgeman, 36, on the prowl inside St Michan’s Church in Dublin, between February 23 and 25 this year.

6 Bridgeman is spotted lurking about the graveyard

6 He's captured on CCTV forcing open a heavy gate

6 The thief is then seen making off with the skull

In the first snap, Bridgeman, who claimed he was seeking somewhere to sleep, is seen walking close to graves at the ancient building.

In another, he is seen walking towards the crusader’s final resting place.

We also show how the robber, now serving a 28 month sentence for the raid, leaving the Church minutes after he left the catacomb in a terrible state.

During the break-in — which made headlines around the world — the thief spent over two hours in the church grounds before making his way to the crypt.

Bizarrely, the hood blessed himself before forcing open the exterior steel 30lb doors.

He forced open a steel gate before gaining access to the vault. Gardai suspect the thief used a crow bar to enter the area. Once inside, the brazen thief broke the knight’s leg bones and damaged his rib cage.

We have published the CCTV as the Archdeacon of Dublin, Venerable David Pierpoint, told how he was set to hold a behind-bars meeting with Bridgeman.

Ven Pierpoint said: “I will be meeting Mr Bridgeman in prison soon to talk about the incident and if he apologises for his actions then, as a Christian churchman, I will of course forgive him.

“I have met with members of his family and they are very apologetic for his actions. We left the courts to deal with the judicial process but now it’s over I am in a position to meet him.

“It’s a relief the crusader’s head is now back in his resting place and we are delighted to have people return for visits to the Church.

“When this happened we were disgusted because people have been lying at rest for years and years and to have them desecrated in such a sacrilegious way is distressing and disturbing.”

A 300-year-old nun’s remains which were in a coffin beside the crusader was also vandalised when the head was twisted and arm damaged.

The crusader’s head, along with another skull, were stolen by Bridgeman before they were eventually recovered by gardai in the capital on March 5.

The crypt of the family of Irish mathematician William Hamilton was also damaged in the incident.

DRUGS AND BOOZE BENDER

Investigators believe Bridgeman, who was on a drugs and booze bender when he stole the ancient items, stashed them for two weeks before returning them.

The probe was led by Det Inspector John Bates under the command of Supt Ann Markey at the Bridewell Garda station.

The vault — which has been welcoming visitors since the 1930s — was re-opened to the public in July.

The church, founded in 1095, has also upgraded its CCTV system, with cameras now covering every part of the building. New and stronger locks have also been added to the vault gates.

The senior cleric also paid tribute to the Gardai, the church and the local community for their support after the incident.

Ven Pierpoint added: “The support we have had from the local community has been fantastic and we can’t thank them enough. The Gardai were also diligent and professional and we would like to thank them for recovering the items.”

The crypt, which generates around €80,000 each year and attracts 28,000 visitors, had been closed since February’s incident.

As the Garda investigation continued and the crypt remained closed to the public, the church lost approximately €35,000 in revenue.

REPAIRED BY EXPERTS

The crusader’s skull was sent to experts from the National Museum to be repaired. The restoration work was completed before the head was re-attached to the knight’s remains.

St Michan’s curate, Rev Ross Styles, revealed how drug users are still using church property to take pills.

Rev Styles added: “We still get transient people coming into the church and you will get this in any green space in the city. People are coming in here to take drugs and we just hope they get help for their addictions.”

At Bridgeman’s sentence hearing, the court heard how he had claimed he was “out of his head” during the incident. He said: “I thought I was dreaming, it wasn’t reality.”

The thief also said once he left the church he fell asleep in town and realised when he woke up again he had two skulls in his bag.

MOST READ IN NEWS DOC'S PRAISE Dr Fauci reveals he's 'impressed' with Ireland's handling of Covid-19 crisis radio shake up RTE stars pay tribute to Bryan Dobson and Aine Lawlor as they swap roles 'LOVE YOU' Simon Harris thanks mum 'for putting up with me' as he marks her birthday HORROR CRASH Four people rushed to hospital after scrambler collides with car in Dublin whopping win Lotto punters in Kilkenny urged to check tickets after massive €5m jackpot win XMAS CASH WAIT No decision on social welfare Christmas Bonus just weeks from Budget 2021

Bridgeman said he panicked and wanted to bring them back but was afraid of being caught.

Judge Martin Nolan said: “These skulls represent a lot to people of religious belief.”

And in reference to his previous convictions, he added: “I suspect he is a menace at times.”

6 Brian Bridgeman was jailed for 28 months

6 Bridgeman stole the Crusader's head from the church Credit: Crispin Rodwell - The Sun Dublin