The man who murdered four people in a frenzied attack in Westminster had been a popular schoolboy and teenage sports star, it has emerged.

Decades later he laughed and joked with hotel staff in Brighton the night before he went on his fatal rampage in London.

He was named by police on Thursday as Khalid Masood, 52, a father-of-three.

But he was born Adrian Russell Elms to a single mother in Dartford on Christmas Day, 1964.

He later changed his name to Adrian Russell Ajao after his stepfather Phillip Ajao, who married his mother in 1966.

But police say that they believe he used many aliases over the years.

Scotland Yard released a photo of the terrorist as they appealed to members of the public to contact them if they had any more information.

But an earlier photo also emerged of him as a teenager.

It was taken just after a game of football with schoolmates.

Former classmates described him as a popular and bright boy who had also played in the school rugby team.

But he grew up to be a serial criminal who was in and out of prison for violent crimes and once slashed a man with a knife after a boozy pub row with "racial overtones".

His criminal career began in 1983 and over the years included convictions for assault, GBH and possession of an offensive weapon.

He served jail time in Lewes Prison in East Sussex, in Wayland Prison in Norfolk and in Ford open prison in West Sussex.

He was given a two-year stretch in 2000 following a fight outside the Crown and Thistle in Northiam, near Rye in East Sussex, that left his victim requiring 20 stitches to his face.

Neighbours who remembered him from that time of his life described him as a "troubled" character who was not very religious and who would go to local pubs.

In later years he claimed that he was an experienced English teacher who had worked across the world.

He spent time in London, Sussex and Luton but most recently appears to have been based in the West Midlands.

The Guardian newspaper reported that his half-brother Alex Ajao, an account director at the Berlin office of an international marketing agency, gave an interview in 2006 in which he described the 7th July 2005 bombings in London.

Asked about his “worst day at work” by Marketing Week magazine, he said: "I was on a train from Kings Cross to an internet forum I was co-chairing in Halifax which left at about 8am. News filtered through about what was going on in town, but by the time it had the phone network had gone into meltdown meaning I couldn’t contact any friends. [...] I ended up chairing a meeting for which I was half prepared, whilst my mind was about 200 miles away.”

Meanwhile, Masood was "laughing and joking" in Brighton the night before he killed four and injured dozens, according to the manager of the hotel where he stayed on Tuesday.

Sabeur Toumi, of the Preston Park hotel, told Sky News: “We never thought anything of him. He was just another guest who checked into the hotel.”

He also reportedly used the social messaging app WhatsApp just minutes before the attack.

A house in Trelech, Carmarthenshire in Wales, thought to be his parents' home, was also searched by police.

Neighbours who had lived close to them in Kent described them as a pleasant, normal couple who moved to Wales to start a chicken farm.

A local mechanic said the couple had lived in the house for about 15 years and were "good people".

Appealing for help to track Massod's movements and associates, Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley said: "We remain keen to hear from anyone who knew Khalid Masood well; understands who his associates were; and can provide us with information about places he has recently visited

"There might well be people out there who did have concerns about Masood but weren't sure or didn't feel comfortable for whatever reason in passing information to us."