The 28-year-old said the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation (ESSMF) will help artists aged under 18 with "small but hopefully useful grants".

He said the grants could be used for anything from buying an instrument to funding music studies.

The singer, said to be worth about £170m, said he wanted to "give something back".

Sheeran, who still lives near Framlingham, said he set up the charitable music foundation in Suffolk as it was where he grew up in and learned to play music.

"I feel like I've had a lot of support from the area and I feel like I want to give some support back," he said on social media.

"The music foundation won't be able to help everyone, but it will be able to do some good work."

The ESSMF website said applications would be open from spring 2020, but people can register their interest before then.

Only musicians who live in Suffolk and are aged under 18 at the time of submitting an application can apply, it said.

Sheeran was recently named the UK's artist of the decade by the Official Charts Company.

During the summer, he ended his record-breaking Divide tour with four homecoming gigs in Suffolk.