EXCLUSIVE: 'Former fraudster' Acid House King facing jail after caught going equipped for burglary

A "REFORMED" crook and former acid rave pioneer could face jail after he admitted going equipped for burglary and two breaches of a serious crime prevention order (SCPO).

Tony Colston-Hayter, 57, (above) from Clifton Street, Brighton, made headlines in 1988 when he was dubbed "The Acid House King", accused of luring Britain's youth to the "evils of ecstasy".

In 2014 he was back in the spotlight after he pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to being the ringleader of a gang who siphoned £1.3m from Barclays by hacking into computers and stealing 24,000 bank cards (below) and was jailed for two and a half years.

In December 2018 he was back at the same court which sentenced him to 20 months after he admitted creating a machine (below) that disguised his voice to get into bank accounts and placed under the SCPO.

He now describes himself as an ex-con and former bank fraudster on social media.

Colston-Hayter appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court yesterday and admitted that last Thursday<jan5> he was in possession of a crowbar in Park Lane, Westminster, London, to use in a burglary.

He also admitted breaching the SCPO by having more than one mobile phone and postal material not in his name or immediate family members.

He will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on a future date.