ANTI terror police were last night probing why Westminster killer Khalid Masood spent his final night in a Brighton hotel.

It was revealed yesterday that the 52-year-old stayed in the Preston Park Hotel in Preston Road prior to carrying out the attack which left four dead and dozens injured.

Just hours before the attack Masood told hotel staff he was heading up to London, adding: “It isn’t what it used to be.”

Hotel manager Sabeur Toumi said: “He was friendly, really friendly actually, and chatty. He was laughing and joking. There wasn’t anything suspicious about him.”

It is believed police first linked Masood to the hotel from a receipt they found in the Hyundai he used as a deadly battering ram.

Officers searched the hotel on Wednesday night and took away bags of evidence including the toilet roll holder and telephone. He had stayed at the hotel on Friday night, checking out the next morning, before returning for his final night on Tuesday.

Police are now trying to trace any possible associates of Masood and have so far arrested 11 people. Experts told The Argus there was a possibility he had contacts in the city.

Andrew Oppenheimer, counter terrorism consultant, said: “It is possible there is a cell down here in Brighton. It isn’t always a community, sometimes it just a handful of people. If so police will be working around the clock to track it down.”

Yesterday, it was revealed Masood had extensive links to Sussex having lived across the county.

He was born in Dartford, Kent, before moving to Rye when he was a child. After school he worked in Bodiam before living in Northiam, Eastbourne and later Crawley.

When living in Northiam he was sent to prison for two years for a knife attack on a cafe owner.

The Argus court report from November 2000 told how Masood attacked Piers Mott after an argument containing “racial overtones”.

In a chilling prediction of what was to come, his defence barrister said his family had become ostracised in the village and had been forced to move out.

Masood went on to commit another knife attack while living in Ashford Road, Eastbourne, in 2003. He slashed a man in the face leaving him needing plastic surgery.

For the offences he spent a number of years in Lewes Prison and Ford Open Prison where it is thought he was radicalised. Professor Peter Squires, criminology expert at the University of Brighton, said it was unlikely there was a network in Brighton. But he said he could have had a support network elsewhere, which he said could explain his movements: checking out of the hotel on Friday before returning on Tuesday.

He said: “Maybe he was thinking of backing out and this is where a support network kicks in. When I talk about support network I don’t mean the people who literally buy his knifes but a group who can reassure him and remind him of his commitment and promises.”

Mr Oppenheimer said it was unlikely he worked alone, adding: “I’ve been very worried about Brighton for a while. It is one of the most liberal and diverse cities with lots of gay people and a great sense of equality. It is a perfect target for someone with extremist Islamic views. But he knew that by attacking Westminster he would get maximum exposure.”