Staff at an Ipswich music shop welcomed a very special guest to their store when Ed Sheeran came in to prepare for his surprise free gig.

The Suffolk superstar announced that he would be performing at Ipswich Town Hall while at Music World on Queens Street on Friday.

The Ipswich shop was contacted by Sheeran’s team prior to his visit, saying he wanted to come to the store to buy a guitar and an amp.

The shop’s managing director, John Fender, said that Ed Sheeran was in the store for about an hour chatting, looking around, and trying instruments.

He added: “Ed was so friendly and kind and spoke with such great affection for the area.

“He spoke about his love for Ipswich, his recent tour and his Suffolk Music Foundation, which is inspiring young musicians throughout the county.

“We also spoke about his fantastic range of 'Sheeran by Lowden' guitars, which we sell here at Music World and chatted about his early gigs in Ipswich and how he often visited Music World.”

The Shivers singer purchased a Sheeran by Lowden S0-3 Electro Acoustic guitar and a 'Fender Acoustic 100' Amplifier as well as a capo and guitar strap.

The guitar was later gifted to ten-year-old Arthur Baggett.

Sheeran also signed some of the guitars as well as the shop wall before taking pictures with the team.

He then left with the gear to play his free surprise gig in the town centre, performing hits Perfect, Castle on the Hill, Bad Habits and Shivers.

Mr Fender added: “It was awesome to have a visit from Ed. We were all super excited!”

Hundreds of people were left shocked as they saw Framlingham-based singer songwriter perform on the steps of the town hall in the Cornhill.

Rachel Aldridge, from Screen Suffolk said the organisation were contacted two weeks ago about the performance and worked with Ipswich Borough Council to make the moment happen.

She said: “It was totally amazing, there was hardly anyone on the Cornhill, he appeared and suddenly there was a sea of people within five minutes.

“We had to keep it top secret. It was so great to see him stepping onto the steps of Ipswich Town Hall and coming back to Ipswich.”