Ed Sheeran has described his maiden Christmas number one as a 'dream come true' after capping off a triumphant 2017 by securing the prestigious number one slot with Perfect.

The 26-year-old's latest hit has retained its place at the top of the charts to secure his first festive number one slot.

In a message to his fans, Ed told OfficialCharts.com: 'Thank you very much for making Perfect Christmas number one.

'This is an actual dream come true and I'm very proud and happy.

'Thank you so much and have a very merry Christmas, happy holidays and a happy new year.

Versions with Beyonce and classical singer Andrea Bocelli also helped propel the song to the top, acquiring combined sales of 85,000 in the last week alone across downloads and streaming.

The single completes a packed 2017 of success for the Framlingham-raised singer, which included a host of fresh hits, TV appearances, and a Glastonbury headlining slot.

Shape of You, the lead single from his latest album Divide hit number one for 13 weeks at the start of the year, before doing the double in March when Divide was officially released.

The record topped the charts and became the fastest-selling by a male artist ever, shifting 672,000 in both sales and streams in its opening week.

Another coup came when nine of Divide's songs were inside the top 10 while the rest of the album's tracks were within the top 20 as the record reached the chart summit.

Popular Suffolk love letter Castle On The Hill, which namechecks his Framlingham upbringing, peaked at number two, and at one point Ed held the top two spots of the singles chart with both that and Shape Of You looming over everything else.

Streaming service Spotify recently revealed that Ed is the most-streamed artist of the year and remains the most popular artist with 47 million monthly listeners.

A headlining slot on the final night of the Glastonbury Festival's Pyramid Stage was another career defining moment in the summer, before he made a cameo in hit Sky Atlantic series Game of Thrones, albeit to a mixed reception.

Ed hit the headlines again when he broke his wrist, elbow and rib in a cycling accident, which forced him to cancel a handful of shows in Asia.

However, he was named the third richest celebrity under 30 in the UK thanks to a whopping £52 million estimated fortune – up from £45m last year.

Earlier this month, Ed performed for the Strictly Come Dancing final.

He was awarded an MBE for services to music and charity in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Following the ceremony he said: 'I don't have a vast amount of talent compared to other people, I think talent is like 30% of it and persistence, drive and self-belief are the other ones, which I guess are all the same thing.'