FRIENDS of an man who was seen ranting with blood-soaked hands after the murder of soldier Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich have said there was "nothing out of the ordinary" when he was growing up in Romford.
Michael Adebolajo's early years in Romford appear to have been happy ones – a former girlfriend said he was friendly and polite and a "normal, regular boy" .
It has also emerged that while at Marshalls Park School, Adebolajo was best friends with a soldier who later died in Iraq.
The 28-year-old, who grew up in Eastern Avenue, was so upset when Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath died when his Land Rover was blown up in 2007 that he had to be consoled at his funeral.
Adebolajo, the older of the two main murder suspects, who was seen on camera following the horrific murder of Drummer Rigby, is still in hospital after being shot by armed police.
A school friend of Adebolajo is reported to have said: "He was down-to-earth, a nice guy, there was nothing out of the ordinary."
Another said: "Michael was as British as they come.
"He used to be a nice bloke. He loved playing 007 shoot-'em-ups on his Nintendo."
Reports suggest Adebolajo, born in 1985 to Christian parents of Nigerian descent, converted to Islam soon after taking his A-levels at Havering Sixth Form College.
His parents later moved to Lincoln to get away from London and start a new life in 2002.
At the time of going to press, ten people have been arrested by counter-terrorism police in connection with the murder of Drummer Rigby on Wednesday.
One suspect was being questioned, while five have been freed on police bail and two have been released without charge.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne, Senior National Co-ordinator Counter Terrorism and head of the Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command, said: "We are pursuing a significant amount of CCTV, social media, forensic and intelligence opportunities and have active lines of inquiry.
"The two men arrested at the scene of the attack remain in hospital and will be formally interviewed when it is possible to do so.
"The investigation is progressing well but there is still a lot more work to be done. The public have been very supportive in relation to our appeals for help.
"I now ask that anyone who knew the two men who have been arrested to consider if they have any information and to contact us in the strictest of confidence.
"We urge anyone with information to call the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321."
