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Twitter erupts with hilarious memes as One Direction's 'extended hiatus' news sends fans into meltdown

Published: 07:10 EST, 24 August 2015 | Updated: 11:13 EST, 24 August 2015

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Not since the break-up of Take That in the mid-1990s has there been such a strong reaction to a music group going their separate ways.

And now, 20 years after they split and a helpline was created for devastated fans, One Direction admirers are going through similar emotions, albeit with a new outlet to share their woes: Twitter.

Following the news on Sunday that One Direction - comprised of Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne - are to take a break after the release of their fifth album next year, die-hard fans have hit the social networking site in their droves to express their feelings.

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Mass hysteria: One Direction are to go on hiatus next year after releasing their fifth album, and the news of a potential break up caused their fans to go into overdrive on social media

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As well as the heart-wrenching typed-out cries of sadness over their impending hiatus, thought to be lasting a while as the young men go their separate ways for individual projects, there were the more light-hearted responses online.

Some were from the fans themselves, who created memes and posted funny pictures with captions to reveal their state of mind over the news.

Others were more silly and scathing posts, created to poke fun at the not-unsurprising reaction to the news of the band's 'split', which came just five months after they were rocked with the news of Zayn Malik's departure.

Leading the way with a hilarious meme was Twitter user @yonceswanepoel, who had created a photograph of Harry holding a huge collection of Grammy Awards.

He'll be fine: Leading the way on the meme front, was one user who quipped that Harry Styles would win a large collection of Grammy Awards when he makes a solo foray into music

'Harry showing up to the One Direction reunion 5 years after they split :),' she wrote.

Another user, @LoraWalton, predicted an online avalanche of memes, shared a picture of a severely distressed crying man emblazoned with the words: 'Directioners be like... Waaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!'

She added: 'So just heard @onedirection are taking a long 'break'...... let the Memes begin.'

Plenty of Directioners, as the pack of fans is commonly known, reused popular 1D memes to get their message across.

'I have a question... What the hell is going on?' read the words across a picture of a confused Liam, posted by @horansorte.

Another post showed a picture of 21-year-old Harry doing a front crawl in the water, the image covered with the legend: 'Swimming away from ur lies.'

It's a crying shame: One user posted a silly picture of a man clearly in distress, weeping at the news of the 1D 'extended hiatus' news

No, it's not happening: Many fans continued to act in denial after it was revealed the group would disband in March 2016 after the release of their fifth album

'Swimming away from your lies': Plenty of Directioners refused to take notice of the reports

Plenty of 1D supporters simply refused to believe the news, which was first revealed by The Sun's Dan Wootton on Sunday, many of them sticking to their guns and renouncing the claims.

TV star and comedian David Schneider, and social media parody Katie Weasel, however, found the humour in the news, making fun of the situation entirely.

Along with a snap of the four candidates for Labour leader - Liz Kendall, Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Jeremy Corbyn - David quipped: 'Foursome to split and go their separate ways from March.' #inevitable... Oh, you mean One Direction.'

And Katie Weasel, a mock-version of former X Factor contestant Katie Waissel, shared a photo of a toy phone with the somewhat acerbic remark: 'Is there a helpline for those affected by the news that One Direction will be splitting next March?'

Confusion: TV star and comic David Schneider posted a light-hearted reference to the 1D news, mixing them up with the Labour leader candidates

Helpline! Parody account Katie Weasel made a joke in reference to the Take That helplines of yesteryear... but with a child's toy phone

The barrage of pictorial responses came after the fans took to Twitter in their droves pretty much the minute the news was unveiled.

A source told The Sun newspaper: 'The guys have been together for five years, which is an incredible run for any boyband.

'They fully deserve to have at least a year to work on their own projects. There is absolutely no bad blood between them and they are all 100 per cent behind the decision.'

According to the paper the group made the decision during crunch talks in London last weekend and their final show will be at Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on October 31.

You Niall-y had us then: One devastated fan used a couple of shots of Niall Horan laughing to show their feelings about the reports

In it together: Whatever happens, one fan made sure to share, the One Direction family is 'always a family'

The Sun reports that they have some work commitments in February and will take their break in March, while a representative for One Direction had no comment when contacted by MailOnline.

Directioners flooded Twitter in the minutes after the news broke, with many pointing to the never-ending drama that has engulfed the band recently.

'WE NEED OUR OWN SHOW CALLED "KEEPING UP WITH THE DIRECTIONERS" BC WE GO THROUGH MORE DRAMA THAN KARDASHIANS TBH,' one fan Twitter account posted.

'I come online on twitter and the first thing I see is rumours about 1d splitting up. DOES THE DRAMA EVER END?!?!?!,' read another tweet.

Others pointed to the timing of the rumoured split, which if true, would come exactly one year after Zayn quit the band this Spring.

@fondlwt predicted: 'zayn leaves March 2016: 1D take a break March 2017: An apocalypse breaks out.'

@HoranFarmPotato was equally devastated: 'Zayn left 1D in March, The sun claims that they are breaking up in March. WTF MY BIRTHDAY IS IN MARCH CAN I AT LEAST LIVE FOR ONCE????' read their tweet.

Even celebs seemed shocked by the news with Professor Green quipping: 'so there wasn't only one direction after all,' while Radio 1 DJ Greg James was worried he'd be called back to work over the pop emergency.

Shock: Some Directioners couldn't process the news while even celebs were quick to voice their opinions

Support: While many fans were distraught, older pop followers tried to offer some words of comfort

He tweeted: 'You know when something big happens and David Cameron comes back from holiday...is it the same for R1 DJs if 1D split up? If so...annoyed,' he joked.

Older music fans offered Directioners support as they reminisced about previous boyband splits, with @RhianS tweeting:

'I remember when Robbie left Take That and then they split the year after....I feel your pain Directioners #historyrepeating #1Dsplit.'

Rylan Clark and music journalist Sonia Poulter, left, discuss the news that One Direction are due to take a break with This Morning presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford

Meanwhile, after teenagers and their concerned parents used a phone-in on ITV's This Morning to share their sorrow, others took to Twitter to mock them for being so over dramatic.

Poppy Owen wrote: 'Watching This Morning and some of these girls on the phone are literally acting like one direction have died', while Samantha Gizbo said: 'This Morning are talking about the One Direction split/break. It's like some sort of bereavement therapy for callers-in.'

Katie Boyle tweeted: 'A 13 year old won't get out of bed because 1D are splitting! Get a grip! It's not the end of the world people! Grow up.'

Poppy Owen tweeted to say the fans on This Morning were 'literally acting like One Direction have died'

Adam R said presenter Eamonn Holmes talking to the fans about their feelings was 'car crash TV gold'.

The show appealed for viewers to call-in with how they felt about the news and, as it broke over the school summer holidays, young fans got in touch to share their heartbreak.

Ashleigh said she was 'gutted' that the band had announced they would take a break. Asked how she will fill the void left by the band, she said: 'I'm not sure, I spend a lot of my time on Twitter being their fan and going to their shows. But sometimes I think, am I being a bit selfish by being upset about them having a break as they work really hard.'

Katie Boyle said on Twitter the 1D fans calling This Morning need to 'get a grip' and 'grow up'

Julie from Aylesbury phoned in to say her daughter's Anna and Evie were 'bearing up under the circumstances.'

She said: 'There were tears when they heard the news last night, this morning we are being brave but there will be lots of tears and chocolate throughout the day.'

Another parent, David, emailled to say his daughter was 'in bits' and they were all 'trying to console her' and they also wanted 'definite news' from the band on their separation.

Adam said Eamonn's sympathy towards the teens was 'car crash TV gold'

Reporter Rylan Clark was able to offer some words of consolation, pointing out that the boys' break won't come until after they have released another album and finished the current run of their tour.

'People need to calm down a little bit! This is just a break as it stands at the moment,' he said.

But the 26-year-old added that he knew how the fans felt as he was the same way when Geri Halliwell's departure signalled the end of the Spice Girls in 1998.

Tracie Thorne tweeted This Morning to say there were bigger issues to be upset about

He said: 'Don't talk about the Spice Girls, I had to take three days off primary school!'

He reassured caller Evie: 'If I can get over Geri Halliwell, you'll pull through this.'

Some viewers questioned why the ITV show had given so much air time to the showbiz issue when there was more serious news to cover.

Katie Zivarts tweeted This Morning to say: 'I could think of more important things you could talk about on your show than a silly band taking a break... #OneDirection.'

Story of their lives: A timeline of One Direction

Fresh faced: One Direction were formed on X Factor in 2015

Summer 2010

Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik faudition for the seventh series of The X Factor. They are all eliminated before the final round of the competition, but judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell put them together to form a new boy band.

December 2010

One Direction finish in third place on X Factor and shortly afterwards, it is confirmed that the band had been signed by Cowell to a reported £2million Syco contract. Recording for their debut album begins in January 2011.

September 2011

One Direction top the charts with their first single, What Makes You Beautiful while their debut album, Up All Night is also a best seller.

November 2012

One Direction's second studio album, Take Me Home is released

November 2013

Midnight Memories is released globally on 25 November 2013

May 2014

Video emerges showing Zayn and Louis apparently sharing a roll-up 'joint' during the Latin America leg of their 2014 Stadium Tour.

It's all over: The group are taking an extended break after five years together

November 2014

One Direction release their fourth studio album, aptly titled Four

Zayn finds himself at the centre of a row when he failed to join his bandmates in the US to promote their fourth album Four, prompting Today show's Matt Lauer to ask if it was related to drugs.

March 2015

Zayn leaves the band's On The Road Again tour, flying home from Thailand for 'crisis' talks with Perrie after being spotted with blonde Lauren Richardson.

Zayn announces he has left One Direction.

July 2015

It is revealed that Louis Tomlinson is set to become a dad following a fling with stylist Briana Jungwirth.

Drag Me Down, the group's first single as a four piece, is released without any fanfare earlier this month and shot straight to No 1 on iTunes in 86 countries.

August 2015

Just two days after the band drop their new video for Drag Me Down (Filmed at NASA's Johnson Space Center), it is revealed that One Direction are set to take an extended hiatus of at least a year.