Ed Sheeran sent flowers to a grieving fan when unable to sing at her boyfriend's funeral

Instead, Ed paid his respects to Lee and showed his support for Rachel by sending her an enormous bouquet of lilies.

Rachel had started a #singforlee campaign on Twitter in a bid to get the 24-year-old singer to perform at the funeral as Lee was a huge fan of the star.

She took to her Twitter account last night (16.04.15) to thank everyone for their participation in the campaign and for the "lovely" flowers she received from Ed from the other side of the world.

She wrote: "I'd like to thank everyone for their support for #singforlee. It was a long shot and unfortunately @edsheeran is on the other side of the world but he has been in touch and sent me these lovely flowers. #singforlee (sic)".

Before Lee's passing the pair had planned to see Ed perform in July and had even discussed having his hit 'Thinking Out Loud' played at their wedding.

Rachel told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Lee was just a normal lad. He was fun-loving and loved life. He had a constant battle with cancer for 15 months but was so positive the whole way through. You wouldn't even know he was ill.

"He absolutely loved Ed Sheeran. He was listening to him in the hospice before he died."

Lee's funeral will take place today (17.04.15) at All Saint's Church, Childwall.