Cuddle session are an hour long and cost $60 (£40) (Picture: Instagram)

A woman who opened a professional cuddling shop that offers an hour of spooning for £40 has had 10,000 requests from customers in just one week.

Samatha Hess, who opened Cuddle Up To Me in Portland, Oregon, offers hour-long sessions of platonic touching that include hair strokes, hand-holding and a range of different cuddle positions for $60 (£40).

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And business is a-booming: Ms Hess has now had to hire three other cuddlers after a huge surge in customer requests that she was unable to take care of herself.



‘The business has really taken off,’ she told FOX 12.

Ms Hess has hired three other cuddlers to cope with the huge demand (Picture: Cuddle Up To Me)

‘I’ve gotten as many as 10,000 emails in a week.’

The service – which Ms Hess stresses is in no way adult-orientated – came to the professional cuddler as an idea during a low point in her life.

Sessions are filmed to ensure the safety of the cuddler and the cuddled, and the clients sign a waiver agreeing they will be clean, courteous and will keep their clothes on.

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‘Beyond food and shelter, physical touch is the most basic need we have,’ reads one testimonial.

‘Thousands of people have no one to hold or comfort them. Samantha Hess provides a service that promises to ease loneliness, overcome depression and promote happiness.’

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