THE man photographed in a passionate embrace with a woman in the middle of riots in Vancouver is an Australian, according to reports.

Speculation on the couple's identity has been rife since the striking image went viral after being published this morning.

Hannah Jones, of Perth, claims the man in the photograph is her brother Scott , who has been living and working in Vancouver for six months.

Ms Jones told Ninemsn her brother had recently started dating the girl in the photo, identified as Alex Thomas, who is Canadian.

And his mother, Megan Jones, was "shocked" but not surprised to see her son lying in the middle of the road.



"He's very much his own person and that's just Scott. He won't have thought about it, it would have been a spontaneous thing. It was just a moment in time like all those other famous kisses," Ms Jones, from Toodyay, near Perth, said. "It will give him a heap of material for his next stand up gig. I can't believe how it's just gone mad."



Ms Jones said her son has lived in Canada for more than six months, working in hospitality and doing stand up comedy gigs in his spare time.



She said he'll be returning to Melbourne, where he previously lived for nearly a decade, in the next few months with his new Canadian flame.



"I've not met her, but he told me he's bringing the best souvenir ever," Ms Jones said.

"I knew it was him because he doesn't have a lot of clothes with him and he always puts on the same thing.

"I'd have to have my house flooded to get on the news, but he just has to kiss a beautiful girl," she said.

The riot escalated when rampaging ice hockey fans, angry after their beloved Vancouver Canucks team lost a finals game, begun trashing the city. Mrs Jones said her son had been at the game.

"He's over there having the time of his life, quite clearly," she said.

"But he told me recently that he was coming back with the best souvenir ever in Alex."

"It certainly gives him more material for his routine," she said.

Hannah Jones said she was reading the story on the net when she did a double-take after seeing the photo.

"I was just like, 'that's my brother," the 21-year-old told ninemsn.

"I went on his Facebook page and saw all his mates had left messages. I couldn't believe it. It's all over the world."

Originally published as Claim: 'Canadian riot kisser is Aussie'