A STROUD man is hitchhiking around the world to inspire people to follow their dreams.

Tom Day, 25-years-old, left the UK in 2017 on June 1, to hitchhike the world on foot.

Tom, a former university fine arts student and now an adventurer, writer and motivational speaker, has, in the past, suffered from anxiety, and while he was taking the necessary medication, he found he was also aspiring to work in an office for someone else, and while he didn’t want that, at the time hitchhiking alone around the world was something nobody thought was possible for him.

But in a brave move, Tom decided to do it anyway, and what's more, he decided to do it completely on his own.

The brave solo journey began in June this year in the seaside town on Falmouth, Cornwall, a place that means a lot to Tom.

Tom, who writes a daily blog cataloguing his experiences, said: “Falmouth in South-West England is where I blossomed from an anxiety sufferer to the man I am now.”

"To move on, I chose to leave from there on my solo hitchhiking adventure around the world; I would leave the old life to begin my new one as an Adventurer."

Initially, the trip was expected to take six months, but now Tom thinks it will take nearer to two years to complete, and while the journey in the most part is relaxed, there are certain rules Tom has put in place.

Tom said: “The Golden Rule is never pay for transport in advance.”

“I allow myself the occasional bus ticket, but when I do pay for transport, I always return to the same spot I reached by hitchhiking or walking."

Currently in Vietnam, Tom now plans to teach English in Hanoi for five months before moving on to south-east Asia and then Australia as he travels the globe in a journey that has already taken him to the likes of Moscow and Kazakhstan, and has lead him not only to sleep on an ants nest, but has seen him almost get married.

Tom said: “I am primarily doing this to provide an honest image of our world, one from human eyes and not from the media.

"I also aim to inspire and motivate people, young and old, in the hope that they will one day be brave enough to follow their own dream.”

Follow Tom’s hitchhiking challenge on his blog at www.newdayadventures.net