Suffolk superstar Ed Sheeran has appeared at the High Court in London for a copyright trial over his song, 'Shape of You'.

The 31-year-old, who grew up in Framlingham, is involved in a legal battle with two songwriters, Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue, who claim the 2017 hit rips off parts of their song 'Oh Why'.

A three-week trial is due to start today, with Sheeran appearing in-person wearing a dark suit and tie.

Chokri and O'Donoghue have alleged 'Shape of You', which topped the charts in 34 countries, infringes "particular lines and phrases" of their composition.

But Sheeran and his co-authors for the song issued legal proceedings in May 2018, asking the High Court to declare that they had not infringed Chokri and O’Donoghue’s copyright.

Two months later, in July 2018, Chokri and O’Donoghue issued their own claim for "copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement", according to the latest ruling.

Shape of You was a worldwide hit, becoming the best-selling song of 2017 in the UK, and is the most-streamed song in the history of Spotify.

It was featured as one of the lead singles from Sheeran's Divide album.

In a November 2020 ruling, Judge Francesca Kaye said the parties involved in the case "anticipated that they would incur costs in the region of £3m between them on this dispute".

The case is due to be heard from 10.30am on Friday and is expected to last for up to three weeks.

During the trial the hooks of both Shape of You and Oh Why were played.

Andrew Sutcliffe QC, for Chokri and O’Donoghue, said: “The similarity between the two hooks is striking and immediately apparent.

“They sound almost identical, they are such that an ordinary, reasonable, experienced listener might think that perhaps one had come from the other.

“This of course does not by itself prove that copying has taken place but it’s a vital starting point.”

Sheeran may be called to give evidence as part of the trial.