Sainsbury's kiss-in: Humiliation of gay couple leads to mass kissing protest at east London supermarket

People are going to descend on the store and 'pucker up' in defiance

The event will be similar to the Brighton Sainsbury's kiss-in, which saw dozens of people descend on the store and kiss one another (Rex)

Hundreds of people are set to take part in a "Big Kiss-In" in a supermarket after a same-sex couple were told by a security guard they were behaving "inappropriately" for holding hands.

More than 250 Facebook users have said they are going to descend on the store and "pucker up in the aisles" in an act of defiance against the supermarket chain after the incident.

Sainsbury's Hackney came under fire on 8 August after two men were taken aside while grocery shopping by a security guard who had apparently received a complaint from another customer.

Thomas Ress, 32, and his boyfriend Josh Bradwell, 25, said they were shocked when they were told they had been behaving inappropriately.

Following the incident Mr Bradwell told The Independent: “I cannot fathom the idea that my love for another human being upsets someone else so much, but it did.

“We were going to make a roast chicken, get some potatoes - we were probably in there for four minutes, holding hands, nothing more than that."

The couple received an apology from Sainsbury's and a £10 voucher to spend in the store, but organisers of the event said "a £10 voucher just doesn't cut it".

The Big Gay Kiss-In has been organised in an effort to encourage Sainsbury's to "use their resources to ensure that homophobia becomes a thing of the past".

Michael Segalov, the organiser of the event, told The Independent: "When hundreds of people descend on Sainsbury's tomorrow in an act of defiance, a message will be sent to anyone who thinks it's “inappropriate” to show affection to a person, regardless of their gender or sexuality.

"We all know how hard it can be to summon the strength to walk through the streets, hold hands, kiss the person you love when all too often people are harassed, attacked and abused."

Mr Segalov organised a similar event two years ago in a Brighton branch after a lesbian couple were threatened with expulsion by a security guard for briefly kissing in the store.

The Brighton event saw dozens of people, men and women, descend on the store and kiss one another.

The Big Gay Kiss In will take place on 13 August at 6:30pm at the Sainsbury's on Hackney Road.