Ed Sheeran did his friend a favour and paid off her mortgage with song credit

Childhood mate Amy Wadge was struggling financially until she and Sheeran wrote Thinking Out Loud together

Cementing himself as the nicest man in pop, Ed Sheeran paid off a pal’s mortgage by letting her contribute to his last album.

It helps that the songwriter in question came up with Thinking Out Loud, which reached No1.

Ed, who hosted Sunday night's MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan, wrote the track during a session held as a favour to childhood pal Amy Wadge who was having money problems as he finished his second album.

Ed, 24, reveals: “She was going through financial troubles about a year ago.

“She drove to my house – my album was nearly done – and she asked if I could put a song from when I was 17 on the deluxe album, so she could get a little bit of money and pay the mortgage and bills and stuff.

"While she was there, we wrote Thinking Out Loud. Now she never has to worry about money again.”

Good things really do happen to good people.

He adds: “She’s got a family and two kids and stuff and every time I speak to her, she’s going on holiday. It’s really nice to see.

“It wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t come down from Wales to see me.”

Amy has said: “I’m not going to lie and say things hadn’t got financially difficult. My publishing advance had run out and I wasn’t seeing my family at all.”

She has since been writing for Ben Haenow and Geri Horner – formerly Halliwell . Thinking Out Loud has been streamed more than half a billion times on Spotify alone, and it eventually went three times platinum in the UK.

It’s been one of the most popular first dance tracks at weddings over the past 12 months, and Ed says he receives “five or six wedding messages every day”.

Ed arrived in Milan from London on a private jet laid on by MTV. The singer was apparently “touched” that the channel forked out such expense for their host for the night.

But he couldn’t face a quiet night on the eve of the ceremony.

The singer started boozing backstage at the Patron bar as soon as he touched down, and took the party back to his hotel with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

Macklemore told us: “I got drunk with Ed Sheeran.

“I got home kinda early then woke up at 7am and just couldn’t get back to sleep again.” Yeah, booze sweats. We’ve all been there.