FORMER schoolmates of the Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi has said that he was “withdrawn”, would often smoke cannabis, and had been bullied.

The former friend also said that he did not think the 22-year-old was smart enough to have acted alone when he detonated a bomb, killing 22 people and injuring 59 others.

The man, who did not want to be named, said he was at the same school as Abedi when he attended Burnage Academy for Boys between 2009 and 2011. 

He said: “He wasn’t a very memorable person I would say, he was very quiet, withdrawn. 

He said he would often be teased by his classmates saying “there was no real intention behind it, but he would take the brunt of the classroom insults, and wouldn’t say anything back.”

The man told BBC Radio 4’s World At One: “He didn’t come across an an intelligent person ... I can’t even imagine that idea that he would be able to go through with such a complicated procedure, he must have had help.”

He said later after he had left school he would see pictures of him posing with guns on social media when he was involved in military action in Libya.

Others have also spoken out about the personality of the bomber, with a former teacher at the school, saying he was a “dislikeable boy who displayed average laziness, mediocre rudeness and refused to complete his coursework on time.”

An anonymous source also said the attacker had “big heavy nights out” in the past and described him as a calm drunk who smoked weed and drank cognac, even though he grew up in a Muslim household.

“He was sound when he was drunk. He was just chilled. Just smiling, chatting away,” the acquaintance said, adding: “Salman was sound, that’s why I was so shocked.”

The British-born son of Libyan parents had also been banned from a mosque in the city after criticising an imam during a sermon critical of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, a former neighbour of Abedi’s brother said.

It has also been revealed that he had repeatedly been flagged to the authorities over his extremist views, but was not stopped by officers.

Counter Terrorism agencies are facing queries after it emerged that Abedi had told friends that “being a suicide bomber was okay” and prompted them to call the Government’s anti-terrorism hotline.

Reports say that authorities were informed of the danger posed by Abedi on at least five separate occasions in the five years prior to the attack on Monday night. 

A barber shop has also been raided by anti-terror police, and is linked to cousins of Abedi, according to neighbours of the family.

Police raided the Fade Away shop in Moss Side early on Friday, which is around a mile away from where Abedi lived in south Manchester.

Locals said the shop was run by a family, who live at a house on Aston Avenue, Fallowfield, which was also raided by armed police after Monday night’s outrage.

Police said three men, aged 18, 21, and 24, were held on Wednesday on suspicion of terror offences.

In the Libyan capital Tripoli, Abedi’s younger brother Hashem, 20, and their father, Ramadan, were held by special forces linked to the interior ministry.

A Libyan official has said Abedi’s brother knew of his aim to carry out an attack, but did not know its timing or location.

The attacker persuaded his parents preparing for a trip to Saudi Arabia for a short Umrah pilgrimage.

But he flew back to the UK, via Dusseldorf, from Turkey last Friday before going into a shop in Manchester to buy a rucksack, thought to have been used in the suicide bombing.  

He had not been placed on any terrorist watch lists.