By Howard Lloyd

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A café worker has revealed he has to wear a disguise when going to the shops because he is repeatedly mistaken for pop sensation Ed Sheeran . Ginger-haired Ty Jones, 30, bears a striking resemblance to the ‘Thinking Out Loud’ star and his remarkable likeness has catapulted him to viral stardom. The father-of-one claims he can’t nip to the local shop without being pursued by enthusiastic admirers. However, Ty revealed that the relentless attention has occasionally compelled him to don disguises, including dark sunglasses, simply to enjoy some tranquillity. He said: “I get asked almost every day: ‘Has anyone ever told you that you look like Ed Sheeran?'” Being confused for Ed Sheeran is just part of everyday life for Ty, who lives with his wife and their three-year-old daughter in Manchester . While some celebrity doubles depend on outfits or hairpieces, Ty explained that he does not even need to make an effort because the similarity is so remarkable. 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 initially began 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 likeness quickly became undeniable. Ty went on: “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 pay cheque – so eventually I started doing it full-time. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.” That choice proved lucrative, as Ty now travels across the UK as one of the most sought-after doppelgangers, pulling crowds wherever he appears. Recently, he was seen ringside at a boxing event, triggering a social media storm as thousands were fooled into believing the genuine Ed Sheeran had turned up. However, the superstar later dismissed it with a playful post: “That ain’t me bruv.” Likewise, at a cricket fixture earlier this year Ty was mobbed by supporters delighted in the conviction they had just secured a selfie with one of the globe’s biggest celebrities. The Bolton-based chain Chaiiwala demonstrated just how believable Ty is when they employed him to serve behind the counter for a publicity stunt last month. Punters could not believe what they were seeing – and a TikTok of the incident amassed 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 realise that I’m not Ed.” He further stated: “I met the real Ed Sheeran back in 2012 – there’s definitely some of my DNA in there.”