Mark McGowan says he is lonely, filthy and shattered

Mark McGowan set off from London Bridge on Boxing Day, pulling 18 boxes of chocolates on strings and a sign saying: "Could you love me?"

He is crawling about five miles a day and reached Maidstone on Sunday in his campaign to highlight loneliness.

"The A20 is a long and lonely road and I am absolutely shattered," he said.

"My chocolate boxes are in pieces, my suit is filthy and the rose I am carrying between my teeth is somewhat chewed up."

'Utter misery'

Mr McGowan, from Peckham, south-east London, said the stunt aimed to highlight the plight of everyone who has to spend Christmas alone, including the elderly.

"You get by being on your own the rest of the year but at this time it is devastation, utter misery," he said.

"I am looking for love because I have had enough - I don't want to be alone any more."

His intended destination is the site of Thomas a Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral.

Mr McGowan's previous stunts have included rolling a peanut to Downing Street with his nose to highlight student debt.

He was also threatened with legal action after leaving a tap running in a London gallery for a month to highlight water wastage.

And he pulled a bus 30 metres with his toe to protest against bus lanes.