This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Four British males have been banned from using online nicknames after they appeared in court charged with attacks connected to Anonymous and LulzSec.

The four men – Peter David Gibson, 22, Ashley Rhodes, 26, Christopher Weatherhead, 20, and a 17-year-old student – were released on bail after the hearing at Westminster magistrates court on Wednesday morning.

The group's bail conditions mean they are prohibited from using specific online nicknames on sites including Facebook and Twitter.

Gibson, from Hartlepool, is banned from using the name "Peter" on the internet. Weatherhead, from Northampton, is prohibited from using "Nerdo"; Rhodes, from Kennington, south London, cannot use "NikonElite", and the 17-year-old, from Chester, is also banned from using his online nickname.

The four men are also banned using so-called "internet relay chat", the online forums where Anonymous members are alleged to have coordinated many of the attacks.

The four men are separately charged with conspiracy to carry out an unauthorised act in relation to a computer. They were arrested earlier this year by police investigating online attacks by the notorious hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec.

Rhodes, the oldest of the group who was arrested in September, appeared in court dressed in a grey waistcoat over a black shirt, with short dark hair.

Weatherhead, who was also arrested in September, wore a blue shirt under a short black jacket. Gibson has been on police bail since his arrest in April. He wore a smart grey suit, with a white open-necked shirt.

They will appear at Southwark crown court on 18 November for a plea and case management hearing.

Two other men, aged 24 and 20, have been released on bail following their arrest last week as part of the Metropolitan police investigation into Anonymous and LulzSec.

The unnamed men were arrested in Mexborough, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and Warminster, Wiltshire for conspiring to commit offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 using the online identity "Kayla".

The pair are due to return to a London police station in November.