A group of cuddly Londoners clinched their way to a new record for the longest marathon hug on Friday.
Four determined couples managed to each set a new record time of 24 hours and 44 minutes during the attempt at St Pancras Station, which coincided with National Hugging Day.
The event took place appropriately under the watchful gaze of the 'The Meeting Place' statue within the station which depicts two lovers embracing.
Two couples were unfortunately disqualified for breaking their clinch during the epic challenge. One pair was disqualified for loosening their embrace a couple of hours in, while the other had to bow out after 10 hours due to one of the participants losing concentration and pointing at something, causing her to move her arm away from her partner.
Among those who managed to stay the distnace and set a new record was comedian Sanderson Jones who had been hugging his friend Mikey Lear (both below).
Commenting on the feat, Sanderson said: "It's a tremendously delirious experience! Mikey and I are stunned we made it. The hardest part was during the night, however some DVDs and entertainers kept us going."
The three other record-breaking couples were Andrew O'Brien and Jeanette Xiang Xiang Xu, Rose Manley and Emily Jane Brown and finally Bryan and Lorna Tulett.
Under the guidelines for the record of 'longest marathon hug', participants are allowed five minutes break for each complete hour of the attempt, which they are allowed to save up for a longer rest should they prefer. They can also be fed and given water, and shift position but are not allowed to change their arm positions.
The break rule sets the record apart from 'the longest hug' title, where participants have to remain in a continuous clinch for the entire duration of the attempt (the current record for which stands at an impressive 24 hours, 33 minutes, achieved by Canadians Ron O'Neil and Theresa Kerr at Centennail Beach, Ontario in 2010).
The hug-a-thon marked the first of a series of world record attempts that are set to take place across London as part of the build up to this year's Olympic Games.
Organised by promotional company London & Partners, upcoming record attempts for World Record London include the biggest Easter egg hunt, the most expensive chocolate egg and the longest photograph.
"World Record London is a great way for us to warmly welcome visitors and celebrate all that is new and exciting about the capital in this very special year," said Gordon Innes of London & Partners.
Visit www.visitlondon.com/worldrecordlondon to check out what's coming up as part of World Record London.
