A BLACKMAILER jailed for a bizarre plot involving a £2m chalice and a boxer dog named Benji has claimed that the Nazi artefact has destroyed him.

Derick Clifford Smith, 51, held the dog to ransom in a bid to get back his silver tankard, which once belonged to Hitler's henchman Hermann Goering.

But he said that the wrangles over the cup have destroyed his life, landing him a nine-month jail sentence after he admitted blackmail, and robbing him of his health and the custody of his daughter.

Before he was jailed by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court, Smith said: "This whole business has caused me enough suffering. I never had the chance to recover from my heart attacks and I have suffered severe depression."

Smith claimed he lost custody of his 13-year-old daughter as a result of the blackmail case.

"That was the hardest part to bear," he said. "I have been left with nothing."

The court heard how Smith had originally given the chalice to the blackmail victim as payment for a £30,000 debt. When he realised its true value, he tried to get it back by snatching the dog.

Smith, of Tuscan Road, Sunderland, will now face a legal battle over the future of the chalice after it was announced that a civil case will be held to determine its real owner.

Goering's eldest daughter, Edda, could stake a claim for the relic, which was looted by a British soldier after the war.