Liam Payne's poignant last image with girlfriend before his death from 'hotel balcony fall'

Liam Payne shared a series of poignant social media posts with fans before he died in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

The former One Direction star, 31, posted a shirtless picture of himself with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy, not long before his death.

Payne also revealed in separate posts that the couple had been enjoying a relaxed holiday in the Argentinian capital.

The singer also posted a selfie saying "Lovely day in Argentina", and a picture of Ms Cassidy with the caption "Quality time."

He told followers about his plans for the day in Argentina, which included playing polo.

Payne told fans: "Today, we ride. We're going to ride some horses. Think I'm going to play polo again, which is going to put me out of action for about six weeks. 

"It's so hard to do, number one, my back and my neck from swinging that hammer around… or mallet, I think it's called if you're in the know. It hurts a lot, it's very tough to do."

Payne was found dead after falling from the third floor of the Casa Sur hotel in the capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday. He had been in the Argentinian capital for his former bandmate Niall Horan's tour.

He suffered catastrophic injuries from the fall, including a fractured skull, local officials said.

Tributes poured in after his death. A statement from the Brit Awards said: "We're incredibly sad to learn of the tragic passing of Liam Payne. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family at this time".

Former X Factor duo Jedward sent "strength to Cheryl and his son Bear and all the One Direction family". Paris Hilton called the news "so upsetting" in a post on X, and sent her "love and condolences" to his friends and family.

Former One Direction star Liam Payne dies 'falling from a hotel balcony'

Payne originally shot to fame as part of the original line-up of the world-famous boy band, formed in 2010, alongside Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Harry Styles.

After becoming one of the biggest pop groups in the world with five albums and four world tours, they went on indefinite hiatus in 2015.

Payne released his debut solo album LP1 in December 2019 which included the singles Polaroid and Familiar.

He and Girls Aloud singer Cheryl share a son Bear, born in 2017, having been in a high-profile relationship between 2016 and 2018.