Cheryl and Liam Payne expected to announce baby's arrival in official statement

Excitement is mounting for fans of Cheryl Cole and Liam Payne amid speculation that the pair are due to announce the arrival of their first child together any day now.

It was earlier rumoured that the former Girls Aloud singer has already secretly welcomed her baby. However a leaked document appears to suggest that the celebrity couple are planning to break the news to fans 'in their own time' once she's had the baby.

The leaked document was reportedly circulated amongst the A-list couple's fan sites but was later deleted "out of respect" for the new parents-to-be.

According to Mail Online a fan account stated: "Out of respect for Cheryl and Liam, we've decided to delete the statement we shared yesterday as it was a leaked document."

While the document was withdrawn, the news was already out there and as they anticipated the statement, social media users couldn't contain their excitement at the imminent arrival.

One fan tweeted: "Cheryl and Liam will announce when their baby has been born. But no baby Chiam ... yet."

"Seeing that statement from Cheryl & Liam just makes it all even more real. It's so exciting", said another.

"Rumour: Liam and Cheryl's baby should be born any day now!", a 1D fan site reported.

"I feel like Cheryl has been pregnant for like 3 years is she ever gonna give birth??" said one eager fan.

Former One Direction singer Liam is said to be working all hours in a north London recording studio in order to get his debut solo album finished before Cheryl gives birth.

A source close to the father-to-be told The Sun the pop star wants to devote all his time and attention to his newborn baby and support Cheryl after she gives birth.

"[Liam] will be a father any day now so he's in London and has his phone on loud so he can rush to her side immediately if he has to," the source said.

"But until that happens he will continue spending as much time in the studio as he can. It's not ideal right now but it will mean he's completely free to dote on mum and baby when the time quickly comes."

While Liam posted an image of himself at work at Sound Tracks studio in north London, Cheryl has remained largely silent on social media.

However, she broke her social media silence on Wednesday when she shared an empowering post to mark International Women's Day.

The quote, from East Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert, read: "'The women whom I love and admire for their strength and grace did not get that way because s**t worked out. They got that way because s**t went wrong, and they handled it. They handled it in a thousand different ways, but they handled it. Those women are my superheroes."

Cheryl has kept mum about her pregnancy and is yet to publicly confirm that she's expecting her first child with Liam. However, appearing in a campaign video for The Prince's Trust and L'Oreal Paris to raise confidence in young people suffering from low self-esteem, the former X Factor judge proudly displayed her large baby bump in a figure-hugging black dress.

Payne has also been coy about the new arrival, but told a fan during a #askLiam Twitter Q&A that he was "the happiest I could be".

The History singer is reportedly planning to propose to Cheryl once the baby is born.