A petition in honour of the late One Direction star Liam Payne has reached a significant milestone, just 72 hours after it was launched.

Payne died aged just 31 last Wednesday (October 16) after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The news of the singer's death shocked many and saw Payne's bandmates, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, share a touching tribute to the star, saying that "the memories we shared with him will be treasured forever."

Payne had been open about his struggles with his mental health and addiction issues following his rapid rise to fame at the age of 16, and his death has shone a light on the pressure that the music and entertainment industry heaps on its young stars.

A petition on Change.org has seen calls for legislation to protect the mental health of artists in the entertainment industry following Payne's death.

You can see the petition here.

Petition in honour of One Direction's Liam Payne hits milestone

The petition has reached more than 41,000 signatures at the time of writing, as Change.org shared that it "highlights the urgent need for systemic changes to address the mental health challenges faced by performers."

Day Kv, who started the petition, said: “The entertainment industry needs to be held accountable and be responsible to the welfare of their artists.

"We seek to implore lawmakers to create legislation safeguarding the mental health of artists within the industry. 

"Such a law would necessitate regular mental health check-ups, adequate rest periods, and the presence of mental health professionals on-set, including any ongoing support during their career."

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Fans and supporters have been adding their voices to the petition as Keva Bostic writes: "This tragedy could have been so easily avoided.

"I wish that the people close to him in his management could have recognized or cared about his clear cries for help and intervened, but they either didn't see it or didn't care. We love you, Liam.

"Please prevent this from happening to anyone else."