Maniac had tried before to kill with his car

KHALID Masood had previously tried to run over someone with his car in a fit of rage.

The thug, who mowed down dozens of people on Westminster Bridge, attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon after a bust up.

The incident, around 25 years ago, was a chilling foreshadow of the carnage he unleashed in London.

It happened in the village of Northiam, East Sussex, where Masood lived for several years.

Locals said he was a known troublemaker. He had a drink problem and a history of violence, and was jailed for slashing a man’s face.

Nigel Gill, who runs the local Spar, said Masood was not a ISOBEL DICKINSON Muslim or religious when he moved to the area in 2000.

But he said it was clear Masood, then known as Adrian Elms, “obviously had a bit of an issue”. Mr Gill said: “He had a fight with a guy up the pub and I think he left after that. He slashed the guy.

“There were also a few other incidents – when he had a drink he got a bit odd. “He once smashed someone’s motor up and I heard he tried to run someone over. People were a bit wary of him.”

Masood, 52, was born in Dartford and lived in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, before moving to Northiam. Mr Gill, who has lived in the village for more than 30 years, said: “He was well spoken, perfectly normal and an average man.

“He was a customer – I’d say about 25 years ago. He lived around here for about five years or so.” He said of Masood’s Westminster rampage: “It was a bit of a shock. I saw it on the news and thought he looked vaguely familiar but I could not put my finger on it. Then I realised.

“Something must have happened when he was in jail.”

Others who knew Masood told how he showed no interest in religion as a youngster.

Former best mate Mark Ashdown told how his pal, who he knew as Ade Ajeo, enjoyed bedding girls and taking cocaine and ecstasy in his youth.

The Met Police said Masood had a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.

He was never convicted for terrorism, but was known to MI5 and was on the “periphery” of the extremist scene. His first conviction was in November 1983, aged just 19, for criminal damage, followed by a two-year stint in jail in 2000 for attacking cafe boss Piers Mott.

In December 2003 he was jailed again for possession of a knife.

In 2006 he was visited by cops on several occasions.

A fellow pupil at Huntleys School for Boys in Tunbridge Wells, where Masood went as a teenager, described him as a “tall, lanky, skinny bloke”.

He said: “I think the teachers liked him because he was a good rugby player and that is all that mattered.” But he added: “He was one of only two black boys at the school, so it must have been tough for him.”

A neighbour who lived next door to Masood in Tunbridge Wells said he was from an “ordinary” family, with hardworking parents.

Mum-of-five Hazel Ellis added: “We had no trouble at all with the family, they were friendly and very co-operative about things like fencing and other neighbourly things like that.”