A FATHER of four has been left furious after being told that the £800 tickets he bought for his family to see Ed Sheeran are "not valid".

Mark Seagrave bought four tickets for the pop superstar's concert in Cardiff on June 23 next year as a surprise for his family.

However, Mr Seagrave, of Brigantine Way, in the Duffryn area of Newport, bought the tickets through Viagogo – an “unauthorised ticket resale website”, according to the concert’s promoters.

Kilimanjaro Live, the promoters, have said that 10,000 tickets have now been cancelled and are being returned back into the market place for fans to purchase at face value.

The 36-year-old said the tickets are legitimate but that, as the name on his ID won’t match the one on the ticket, they will not be allowed entry.

“This is a disappointment,” he said. “I am pretty anxious and it has affected me.

“This is stealing in my opinion.”

The retail manager wanted the tickets to be a surprise for his family as his partner in particular loves Ed Sheeran.

“This is a one in a lifetime opportunity, so I thought I would treat them,” he continued.

“I didn’t want to let them down and, instead, we are now more than £800 out of pocket. It is a lot of money.”

The dad-of-four paid a total of £841.13 for the four tickets, including fees, and claimed that he sent around 30 emails to Viagogo before they responded to tell him that they will not be refunding his money.

“They are still saying that the tickets are valid,” he said. “They are not listening.

“Viagogo were selling tickets when they were not allowed to.”

A spokeswoman for Kilimanjaro Live, the promoters of the concert, said: “We’re really sorry to hear of Mark’s problems with Viagogo and understand his upset and frustration.”

She confirmed that tickets bought through Viagogo are not valid.

She continued: “The promoters and Ed Sheeran’s team worked closely together in advance of the on-sale date to put in place measures designed to protect fans from profiteering companies.

“This was declared to have been very effective with the vast majority of fans following the advice to only purchase tickets from official outlets

“This has resulted in 90 per cent of tickets being delivered directly into fans’ hands at the face value.

“Despite these efforts however, it has become clear that one such company, Viagogo, have ignored the promoters’ requests and there is an increasing number of customers who are realising they have been duped by Viagogo’s false advertising and have unfortunately become victims of massive hidden overcharging for tickets.”

The spokeswoman said that up to 10,000 tickets have now been cancelled.

Viagogo were contacted for comment.