Liam Payne gets his hands dirty as he volunteers at a London food bank

He has been isolating alone at home in London during the coronavirus lockdown and hasn’t been able to see his son, Bear, three, who is with mum Cheryl. 

But Liam Payne stepped out to volunteer at a food bank in London’s Euston in a bid to help those struggling to feed themselves during lockdown. 

The 26-year-old singer also donated enough money to the Trussell Trust, who support a nationwide network of foodbanks, to pay for 360,000 food parcels. 

He says he was left deeply upset by reports of families who were scrambling to feed themselves during the coronavirus crisis. 

In an interview with The Mirror, he said: ‘I was told in terms of people turning up to that specific foodbank, it was almost double, if not more.’

He spends his volunteering days packaging up food parcels for homeless people with a team of four other volunteers. 

The Trussell Trust revealed that it was going through its busiest period ever, with 81 per cent more emergency food parcels being given out across the UK, compared with last year. 

Liam said: ‘It’s disturbing to know how many people are without food in these circumstances.’ 

He went on to give a special tribute to the inspiring foodbank volunteers he met – Carla, Dorothea and Helena – and urged people to donate to the trust. 

He said: ‘These people are putting themselves on the line every single day going out and doing this, putting themselves at risk.

‘This is a really unprecedented situation that we find ourselves in right now. It’s very distressing seeing the number of people out there losing their jobs.’

The former One Direction star has himself been struggling with lockdown as he is separated from his three-year-old son Bear, who is living with his popstar mother Cheryl.

The pair broke up in 2018.  

Liam said missing his son is one of the ‘hardest things he’s had to do in his life’  and he’s making sure to FaceTime him as much as possible.  

He added more special praise for NHS workers across the country and revealed he’s been joining in the Clap for our Heroes every Thursday evening.  

The star has previously told how he himself, was born ‘effectively dead’ and doctors had to bring him back. He was then constantly in hospitals as a toddler with kidney problems. 

He believes he owes a personal debt to the NHS and noted how he believes the UK takes it for granted. 

He said: ‘It’s unfortunate that it’s only in times like these that we all suddenly realise that. I mean these guys literally put themselves at risk every day.’ 

Due to the lockdown Liam has been forced to postpone a series of international concert dates over the summer.  

Instead, the singer has taken to putting on gigs from the confines of his London flat. 

He performed the One World Together at Home concert, hosted by Lady Gaga, and debuted his new single Midnight with Alesso on James Corden’s chat show while in his front room and rooftop. 

Liam has openly discussed his suffering ‘chronic loneliness’ while he was in One Direction and he even went to therapy because he was struggling so much. 

He says his way of battling lockdown blues is to make sure he has a daily routine which includes mini goals such as writing a song or making sure he’s spoken to a family member.  

To donate to the Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity that supports a network of food banks and campaigns for a future where everyone can afford their own food, click here.