‘He was a big piece of my life’: Your tributes to Liam Payne

One Direction superfan Faith May, 21, from Surrey, said she cried when heard about Payne’s death, with the news coming as an “awful shock”.

She remembers watching the video diaries of Payne and the group on The X Factor and learning about their different personalities.

“A lot of people will be like it’s just a celebrity, but it’s not true… it’s like going through the stages of grief for someone you love – it’s exactly the same.”

As a girl, Faith admitted to being “obsessed” with the boyband.

She said: “One Direction wallpaper, I had a One Direction hairdryer, anything you can think of.

“They had a 1D Day – a whole day for One Direction – and I remember staying up all night, it was such a big thing.

“The hold they had over young girls, young people, and even mums and dad – it was a worldwide sensation.”

She also remembers begging her dance teacher to dance to Payne’s first solo single Strip That Down, and admits she had been living in hope there would be a One Direction reunion at some point.

“How can this happen to someone so young and so successful, with so much more to give? We are united in heartbreak.”