nlillitos@thekmgroup.co.uk

A man who offers random passers-by a hug has been arrested... for harassment.

Adam Moloney often offers shoppers in Maidstone's High Street a cuddle - armed with a megaphone and board reading ‘Free Hugs’.

It’s a simple embrace lasting just a few seconds and he reckons he’s
given out over 1,000 hugs so far.

But now the 28-year-old from Cranbrook is on something of a ‘hug low’ after police arrested him following complaints from a trader in Fremlin Walk shopping centre.

He was not charged but issued with a harassment warning, according to
a police spokesman.

Adam said: “Police told me a trader had complained about me, alleging I was saying inappropriate things through my megaphone that were upsetting passers-by.

“But there’s no way I would utter repulsive remarks.

“The trader, I’m not sure who it was, clearly wanted me away from
standing near their business.

"It’s the typical kind of reaction the establishment have when people like me try to encourage others to feel better about themselves.”

He says he is not letting the experience put him off from offering hugs again.

“The vast majority always hug me back, and I always say thank you after it’s over and they say the same to me. It clearly makes them feel better.

“When they ask me why I’m doing it, I tell them it’s because I want to
brighten up their lives.

“I recognise that in order for this world to become a better place, it’s important for us to realise we’re all intrinsically inter-connected, that we’re all fundamentally the same.”