Ex-rave organiser known as ‘Acid House King’ who once handcuffed himself to Jonathan Ross and later became ‘Mr Big’ of cybercrime is jailed for stealing post from letterboxes

• Tony Colston-Hayter was jailed for ten months for stealing letters from postbox 
• Read more: Man arrested on suspicion of murder following Chelmsford death 

The ‘King of Acid House’ has been jailed again after being caught ‘desperately’ stealing letters from a postbox.   

Tony Colston-Hayter, 57, once famously handcuffed himself to Jonathan Ross on television in 1989 after his ‘Sunrise’ parties were banned by then former Home Secretary Douglas Hurd.

Colston-Hayter, who was later referred to as the ‘Mr Big’ of cybercrime following decades of obscurity, was then jailed for five and half years in 2014 for masterminding a £1.25million cyber bank heist which targeted scores of victims including comedian Stephen Merchant.

After his release in 2018 he used a bizarre home-built machine to contact victims and convince them he was a member of staff at their bank, and the names of celebrities including Noel Gallagher and Sheridan Smith were reportedly found on a spreadsheet of bank details found in his possession.

Now Colston-Hayter, of Brighton, has been caught stealing other people’s post to exchange for drugs. He admitted going equipped and breaching a serious crime prevention order. He was jailed for 10 months.

Controversial moment: Colston-Hayter is pictured handcuffing himself to Jonathan Ross on television

Tony Colston-Hayter, pictured left in his 20s, around the time he was dubbed the Acid House King, is believed to have targeted comedy writer and actor Stephen Merchant in bank heist in 2014

Colston-Hayter had been jailed for 20 months for nine counts of possession of an article for use in fraud and two counts of making or supplying an article for use in fraud in 2018.

A serious crime prevention order was put in place for five years but Colston-Hayter breached it when he was caught slipping his hand through a letterbox in London on January 5. 

‘He was seen stuffing what looked like white paper envelopes into a rucksack,’ said Gerard Renouf, prosecuting.

He was surrounded by members of the public who detained him until police arrived.

‘Inside his black rucksack was a large quantity of letters not addressed to him,’ said Mr Renouf.

‘He had in his rucksack a crowbar,’ said Mr Renouf.

Joey Kwong, defending, said: ‘He is sorry for what he has done. He has managed to stay out of trouble for three and a half to four years.’

Referring to his past offences Mr Kwong said: ‘He is no longer that man. The offending being dealt with today is not sophisticated, it is desperate.

‘He is battling both mental health and addiction.

‘Having been released from prison on May 21, 2019, he stayed out of trouble for at least three years. He was working on a book telling his story.

‘He thought, wrongly, that going off medication would help him focus. He was using the crowbar to jimmy open letterboxes.

‘He said he was never going to burgle. He said he was going to steal letters.’

After his release from prison in 2018 he was soon back to his old fraudulent ways – but this time with a bizarre home-built machine

He was jailed for five and half years in 2014 for masterminding a £1.25million cyber bank heist which targeted scores of victims including comedian Stephen Merchant

Former rave king: Tony Colston-Hayter once organised some of the UK’s most infamous raves – but later turned to a life of crime (he is pictured in the 1980s) 

Judge Adam Hiddleston told Colston-Hayter that he had knowingly breached the court order. 

‘You have other offences related to dishonesty. Orders of this court have to be considered with care. You have to appreciate that as well.

‘It is not just about stopping you succumbing to temptation, but also to protect the public.’

Colston-Hayter, who lives in Brighton, admitted going out equipped and breaching the order and has been jailed for ten months. 

He previously had led a gang which planted a hi-tech computer hacking device in a bank to empty high value accounts.

After his release from prison in 2018 he was soon back to his old ways – but this time with a bizarre home-built machine.

It was used to contact victims and convince them he was a member of staff at their bank.

Experts from the Met’s Digital Communications and Cyber Laboratory confirmed the device actually worked.

Officers seized a hard drive containing details of passports and identity cards, 32 credit cards, as well as names, addresses, e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

The names of celebrities including Noel Gallagher and Sheridan Smith were reportedly found on a spreadsheet of bank details found in his possession.

Colston-Hayter told officers he created the device with the intention of hacking genuine customer accounts and retrieving the funds available within each account.

It is estimated he gained access to funds in excess of £500,000 from the accounts he accessed but he was caught before he got away with any cash.

The fraudster was jailed for twenty months in 2018. 

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