Ed Sheeran fans condemn online touts as tour tickets sold for up to £1,000 each

Ed Sheeran fans have hit out at online touts after tickets to the British pop star's UK tour were being sold for up to £1,000 each just minutes after going on sale.

The singer-songwriter has teamed up with face value ticket platform Twickets for his April and May concerts; however, dozens of listings appeared on secondary ticketing sites offering the passes at inflated prices.

Disappointed fans vented their disgust at touts on Twitter after failing to get hold of tickets to his 14-date UK and Ireland tour which were released on general sale on Thursday morning.

Joss Woodend posted a screengrab of tickets being resold at up to £550 per ticket, and said: "This is is why it is impossible to get @edsheeran tickets."

She added: "The industry is a mess - sort ticket touts out."

Gemma Louise wrote: "Tired of missing out on seeing my favourite artist bcz ticket touts get in their 1st & re-sell at astronomical prices."

Several fans also called on Sheeran and his record label to intervene. Blair Millar wrote to the popstar: "hi Ed, deeply disappointed in not getting tickets for daughter for Glasgow, tickets touts win again."

Oliver Kennedy posted: "Ed Sheeran's record label to clampdown on ticket touts cashing in on singer's latest UK tour @edsheeran that's a lie couldn't get any at FV."

One user asked the Castle On The Hill singer to follow in the footsteps of You Me At Six frontman Josh Franceschi who told MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport select committee last year that the future of live music depends on a change in the law.

Jodie Wilson wrote: "@edsheeran join @joshmeatsix in the fight against touts! Coz your tickets are being sold for 3x the amount! It's so unfair for real fans."

On secondary ticketing site StubHub, four tickets to his gig at The O2 Arena on May 1, originally priced at £77 were being offered at £999 each plus booking fees.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for eBay confirmed tickets had been removed from the auction website.

They said: "Tickets for gigs are not allowed on eBay and any listings will be removed."

Twickets, which launched in 2011, allows fans to buy and sell spare tickets at face value or less.

Last year, Adele announced she was teaming up with them for her sold-out Wembley Stadium concerts after fans paid up to a reported £25,000 for a previous tour.

Representatives for Sheeran and StubHub have been contacted.

Writing on his official tour website, Sheeran said: "Hey...for this tour I've teamed up with a company called Twickets - which is a safe, sensible and fair place for people to sell or buy any spare tickets they have for the shows.

"Via Twickets, everything is at face value (or less), so you're protected against fraud and hideous overpricing."

He added: "I'd ask all of you to use them and no other of these so-called 'secondary sellers' - no matter how legit they look, this is by far the best option, so please ... only way you should go for any spare tickets is Twickets."