A SUFFOLK singer-songwriter was celebrating stunning chart success last night after reaching the top five in a major music download chart.

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran released the fifth and final instalment of his self-funded EP series on Friday – ahead of putting pen to paper for a major record label deal this week.

And the record rocketed into the iTunes download charts yesterday, at one stage reaching the number five spot ahead of international stars like Taio Cruz and Justin Bieber.

The eight-track “No 5 Collaborations” project features the likes of leading UK hip-hop artists Wiley, Devlin and Ghetts.

The 19-year-old former Thomas Mills High School pupil’s twitter page was last night flooded with comments from friends and fans who had downloaded the independant release, which came out having received no promotion.

Ed thanked followers for their support, tweeting: “All you lot are amazing. Seriously.”

The young artist, who grew up in Framlingham and whose music fuses folk and hip-hop, paid for the five EPs out of his own pocket.

Last week, he told the EADT that he hoped 2012 “could be a big year” and that he was looking ahead to the next 10 years but the immediate success of his latest release has already catapulted him into the limelight.

In 2008 he won The Next Big Thing competition run by Archant, publisher of the EADT.

He is signed to Elton John’s management company and earlier this year flew to Los Angeles to appear on Hollywood star Jamie Foxx’s radio show after a US record company employee heard his music.

This year he has gigged with hip-hop stars Devlin, Wiley and Example, who also congratulated his success on twitter yesterday.

To download Ed’s new EP or for more information about releases and shows, go to www.edsheeran.com.