An Ed Sheeran lookalike has told of how he had to be rescued by security after being mobbed by fans asking for selfies at one of the star’s recent Manchester gigs.
30-year-old Wes Byrne, from Shaw in Oldham, has already made a name for himself and grabbed headlines in the past for paying what is an uncanny resemblance to the chart-topping singer, and often gets mistaken from him that much that he picks up extra work as a lookalike on top of his full-time job as a council binman.
Wes said that his resemblance to Ed Sheeran means that “not a day goes by when I don’t get stopped or asked for a selfie” by fans.
He admitted that his girlfriend Leah “absolutely hates it”.
But the selfie requests seem to have been taken to a whole new level when Wes – who has previously met Sheeran – took his sister Sammy, 33, and her eight-year-old son AJ to one of the singer’s sold-out shows at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month, and security at the venue had to step in to help.
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Security guards took action after Wes was feared to be creating a fire risk due to being mobbed by so many fans in the audience asking to take a picture with him, and moved him from his £82.50 seat, to a VIP zone where tickets sell for more than £1,000.
Ed Sheeran played four sold-out shows at the Etihad Stadium earlier this month / Credit: Zakary Walters (via Instagram – @teddysphotos)
“I got lots of looks when I first walked in, but it wasn’t until the first person asked for a selfie that the floodgates opened,” Wes told the Daily Mirror.
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“Nearly everyone knew I was a lookalike, although a few kids thought I was the real Ed.
“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 [but] we weren’t complaining – it was a much better view.
“It was AJ’s first-ever music gig and he thought all the attention was hilarious.”
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Former Love Island star Callum Jones was one of the people to grab a selfie with Wes at the Manchester gig / Credit: Callum Jones (via Instagram)
Wes has used his resemblance to Ed to his advantage over the years, telling his story in the papers and appearing on ITV’s This Morning, and he even got to meet the famous singer himself back when he acted as a body double for a Heinz tomato ketchup advert back in 2019.
Although looks is apparently where Wes’s resemblance to Ed starts and ends though, as the while he may look like Sheeran, Wes doesn’t think he can compete when it comes to music, admitting that he’s “an awful singer”.
“I did try learning the guitar but I gave up because I was useless,” Wes added.
Featured Image – ITV
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Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
22nd June 2022 
