Flowers, balloons and handwritten notes were laid at the base of a clocktower in memory of One Direction singer Liam Payne.

A vigil was held at Margate Clocktower this afternoon (October 27) by fans to pay their respects to the 31-year-old who died last week.

Payne fell from the third-floor balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was found dead at the scene by the emergency services.

Across the country, Directioners, the name given to followers of The X Factor-formed boy band, have arranged services in memory of the dad-of-one.

Long-time fan Ellie Small decided to organise one in her hometown of Margate as none had been held in Kent and around 40 people attended this afternoon.

She said: “It was very peaceful. There were tears, laughs, singing, dancing. Everything Liam would have wanted.

“We really felt the love there. I could not have hoped for a better turnout.”

Pictures from the event saw crowds of people gathered around the clocktower laying flowers, candles and handwritten notes to Payne.

One message read: “Rest easy Payne. I hope you are finally at peace.

“I am so sorry this world failed you. The world is crying for you.”

Another added: “You will be missed and we will keep loving you.”

Ellie, 21, hoped that the service would allow fans to grieve together and bring awareness to men’s mental health.

She first became a follower of One Direction when she was eight years old after they released the hit song What Makes You Beautiful in 2011.

In 2008, Payne originally auditioned for The X Factor as a 14-year-old, singing Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon but was told to return to the talent show two years later.

In 2010, he impressed the judges with a rendition of Michael Buble’s Cry Me A River before being put together with four other solo hopefuls at the boot camp stage of the competition – the group which later became One Direction.

Following his death, tributes have poured in for Payne, who sang in the group alongside Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

In a joint statement, his former bandmates said they were “completely devastated” and would miss the singer “terribly”, adding the “memories we shared with him will be treasured forever”.

After the band announced their indefinite hiatus in 2016, the members went on to create their own music and Payne released his debut solo album, LP1, in 2019.

Payne died of multiple traumas and “internal and external haemorrhage”, a post-mortem examination report said.