Man disguises self after being constantly mistaken for Ed Sheeran

By James Connolly

A cafe worker has told he is forced to put wear disguises because he is constantly mistaken for pop star Ed Sheeran.

Red-headed Ty Jones, 30, is the spitting image of the "Thinking Out Loud" hitmaker and his uncanny resemblance has brought him viral fame.

The dad-of-one says he can't pop to the corner shop without being chased down by excitable fans.

But Ty said that the constant attention has sometimes even forced him to pull on disguises, including dark glasses, just to get some peace.

He said: "I get asked almost every day: 'Has anyone ever told you that you look like Ed Sheeran?'"

Being mistaken for Ed Sheeran is simply part of daily life for Ty, who lives with his wife and their three-year-old daughter in Manchester.

While some celebrity doppelgängers have to rely on costumes or wigs, Ty explained that he doesn't even need to try because the likeness is that strong.

He said: "A lot of lookalikes have to dress a certain way to impersonate that character or singer, but with Ed Sheeran, he just looks like a normal person.

"Because I look so much like him naturally, I'd still have people stopping me, even if I didn't have my hair the same way as him."

Ty first started hearing the comparisons as a teenager. He said: "I was still in high school at the time.

"My friends saw him on a music platform in his early days, and they were convinced it was me.

"When I saw a clip of him for the first time, I was like 'Jesus Christ, he does look like me!'"

The resemblance soon became impossible to ignore. Ty continued: "After school, I was working in a bingo hall and I was getting lots of requests to appear at events as Ed Sheeran.

"Some of them would be offering me a whole month's paycheck - so eventually I started doing it full-time. It was the best decision I've ever made."

That decision paid off, as Ty now tours the UK as one of the most in-demand lookalikes, drawing crowds wherever he goes.

Recently, he was spotted ringside at a boxing match, sparking a social media frenzy as thousands were duped into thinking the real Ed Sheeran had rocked up.

But the megastar later shut it down with a cheeky post: "That ain't me bruv."

Similarly, at a cricket match earlier this year, Ty was swarmed by fans thrilled in the belief they'd just bagged a selfie with one of the world's biggest stars.

The Bolton-based chain Chaiiwala proved just how convincing Ty is when they hired him to work behind the counter for a stunt last month.

Customers couldn't believe their eyes - and a TikTok of the moment racked up more than 20 million views.

Ty said: "Business is really good at the moment, a lot of people have been like 'we want to book that guy to promote us', which is great.

"I've been working all over the UK and people's reactions are amazing - a lot of them are completely convinced that they've genuinely met Ed Sheeran.

"I've even had to go out of my way to prove that I'm not him. I'll show them my arm without tattoos, and only then they'll realize that I'm not Ed."

He added: "I met the real Ed Sheeran back in 2012 - 'there's definitely some of my DNA in there'."