One Direction battle bird fear

One Direction have ramped up their security in a bid to contain Niall Horan's phobia of pigeons.

The British boyband – comprising of Niall, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson – have recently been in the US promoting their debut album Up All Night.

In a bid to calm Niall's nerves when on the road, the band have brought in extra security to keep the birds at bay during outdoor shows.

"I get really nervous if pigeons are flying around before shows," he told British newspaper The Sun. "I can't stand them after one once flew in through my bathroom window and went for me while I was having a wee. That was enough. I think pigeons target me."

Bandmate Harry reiterated his friend's phobia – which is known as ornithophobia.

"Niall's really scared of pigeons. We have to protect him."

Meanwhile, Zayn has been causing mischief with a Darth Vader impersonator. The star was photographed posing in Jeff Ives' costume gloves as he and the boyband were guests on the same radio show.

The teenage heartthrob has since apologised for his cheeky behaviour.

"Zayn wasn't even aware that these belonged to Darth Vader until we raised it with him. He thought they belonged to one of the other boys — he thought it was part of the 1D wardrobe," a spokesperson told the publication.

"Zayn apologises to Darth Vader. We've tracked them down and they will be returned."