Ed Sheeran's lookalike gets rescued by security after fans mob him at singer’s Manchester concert 

Wes Byrne, an Ed Sheeran lookalike, was moved to safety at one of the singer’s concerts in Manchester after being mobbed for selfies. The 30-year-old is a binman from Oldham, who was at Sheeran’s gig at Etihad Stadium earlier this month when he had to be moved by security guards after they feared he could cause a fire risk in the stadium as selfie-seeking people were blocking the gallery when he was on his way to the loo. Wes Byrne, who is often mistaken for being Ed Sheeran, was then shifted to the VIP zone from his seat.

"I get asked for selfies a lot, but I wasn't expecting that," Wes said to a daily

Wes' sister Sammy and his 8-year-old nephew AJ, who were also at the concert, had to be moved to safety along with Wes. "Nearly everyone knew I was a lookalike, although a few kids thought I was the real Ed, I wasn't going to ruin it for them," he added.

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"About 15 minutes before Ed came on stage, the queue for selfies with me was all the way down a line of steps and out an exit, so security told us to go with them to some executive seats. We weren’t complaining – it was a much better view." Wes said that it was his nephew’s first-ever concert and he feels the attention they received was "hilarious."

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Until 10 years ago, Wes said he didn't know who Ed Sheeran was when people told him he looked like the ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker and says there is not a single day when he gets stopped or asked for a selfie. "My girlfriend Leah absolutely hates it," he added.

Wes recalls that he was approached by an agency in 2018 and was offered work as Sheeran’s double for Heinz tomato ketchup in 2019, where he met the singer in real life.

"The advert was based on him, but he was touring so didn’t have time to stay for all the photos. I was called in for shots that were meant to be the side and back of his head. I got to meet him too which was brilliant," he said."

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Wes said he would continue doing the lookalike work in addition to his present council binman job as long as it lasts. "As long as he is famous and people are asking me for selfies, I'll just go along with it. I don't worry about it, I'm just rolling with it," he added. Though he may look like Sheeran, Wes believes he cannot give the singer a competition when it comes to music and calls himself an "awful singer."

"I did try learning the guitar but I gave up because I was useless," Wes said.