AceShowbiz - Liam Payne has reportedly been rushed to hospital after falling ill on a trip to Lake Como in Italy. The former One Direction star is said to have been enjoying a holiday with his girlfriend Kate Cassidy to celebrate their one-year anniversary when he started experiencing agonizing kidney pain, just weeks after cancelling gigs due to a serious kidney infection.

He was reportedly taken by ambulance to hospital where he was checked in for emergency treatment. A source told The Sun newspaper, "Liam is in a bad way but he's in the best place he can be and finally doctors will be able to get to the bottom of what is going on. Naturally he is gutted that his and Kate's trip to Lake Como has been ruined but at least she was there to help him when he fell ill."

Liam will reportedly have to stay in hospital for several days while doctors take care of him and run tests. The insider added, "Doctors have warned him not to expect to be signed off to go home for at least another six days. They want to do every test possible to understand the issue fully but they now suspect that there has been an underlying issue for a while that has been getting worse."

The news comes after the 30-year-old was previously forced to cancel a series of gigs in South America after spending time in hospital to treat a kidney infection. He broke the news to fans in a post on Instagram, writing, "It's with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America. Over the past week I've been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, it's something I wouldn't wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover."