[Clubhouse]

Walk on by Britain: Two little girls pretend to be lost in a busy shopping centre. So how many people stop to help? One. How many ignore their plight?

The two girls stood for an hour in a busy shopping arcade.

They were filmed as part of a social experiment for television.

Astonishingly, only one person stopped to help them.

Everyone else simply carried on going about their business.

Passing couples even split apart to walk around the 'lost' girls.

One little girl was clutching her favourite toy while her younger sister was sucking her thumb – and both looked utterly lost and forlorn.

In a bygone era, a concerned adult might have stopped to ask them where their mother was. But in a damning indictment of modern Britain, hundreds of busy people simply walked on by.

The girls stood for an hour on a Saturday morning in a busy shopping arcade looking for 'help', as part of a social experiment for television.



Invisible: Even parents with pushchairs avoid Uma, seven, in London's Victoria Place shopping centre



Hidden cameras recorded Uma, seven, and Maya, five, who took it in turns to look lost.

Astonishingly, over the whole hour only one person, a grandmother, took a moment to find out if there was a problem. All of the 616 other passers-by completely ignored the girls.

Heartbreakingly for the mother of the sisters – who was watching from a hiding place nearby – passing couples even split apart to walk around either side of the 'lost' girls and people wheeling suitcases took evasive action to avoid Maya and Uma, not thinking to check if they needed help.

Yesterday the NSPCC** said the results of the experiment were shocking and called on members of the public to step in if they saw a youngster looking lost.

ITN* researchers chose Victoria Place shopping centre, next to London's bustling Victoria Station, to test the British public.

Maya and Uma agreed to help and were brought along by their mother Reshma Rumsey, who watched from behind a nearby pillar with a presenter. Uma went first, standing alone in the middle of the concourse, holding her pink doll and putting on a good act of being scared and vulnerable.



this is a video ^ can be seen on the source link ^




Vulnerable: Maya looks frightened as shoppers bustle past her in Victoria, central London



Under the gaze of the hidden cameras 25 yards away, dozens of shoppers and travellers bustled past. A mother with a pram manoeuvred around her, then a group of women pulling suitcases turned a blind eye.

After 20 minutes, not a single person had stopped to ask the seven-year-old if she was all right, even though some of them had plainly seen her.

Next, it was her five-year-old sister's turn. Maya stood sucking her thumb, and then tried kneeling down, gazing up forlornly at passing shoppers, but she too seemed to be invisible.


At last: This woman was the only person to stop and ask if Maya was all right.



Eventually, a pensioner gave her a concerned look. At first, Pearl Pitcher, of Kent, who is in her seventies, carried on walking, but she soon turned around and came back to ask Maya if she was waiting for somebody.

Mrs Pitcher said later: 'She had stood too long by herself and no parent or friend came up to see her. I was very hesitant to come and ask her, and I walked past but I thought I must come back – just in case.

'I think the older generation would stop, but very cautiously, a bit like I was. I don't know about the younger generation. A lot of people walked by and didn't take any notice at all.'

Mrs Rumsey said she was 'gobsmacked' by seeing her daughters ignored by more than 600 members of the public.

The 39-year-old journalist said: 'When you see that little face looking so lost, and people are walking past, it is awful.

'I did not expect so few people to stop … it's shocking that people noticed a child on her own and they just walked past, whether it's through fear or because they didn't care or because they didn't notice. As a mother, to watch your child on their own, looking lost and needing help and watch people walk past is heartbreaking.'

Experts said the reluctance of the passers-by was partly explained by people being busy, and partly a fear – especially among men – of any help they offer a child being misinterpreted.

But the NSPCC** said a child's welfare was more important than worrying about being labelled a 'stranger danger'.

A spokesman said: 'We have got to get a message out to adults that they have a responsibility to protect children and that must supersede any concern you have for other people's perception of why you are reaching out to help that child.'



* Little Girl Lost: A Police 5 Special will be shown on Channel 5 at 6.30pm tomorrow. (tuesday 25th march 2014)

Source and Videos


*Independent Television News

** National Society for Prevention Of Cruelty to Children.

[TwistedSisterr]

Id stop... with the looks on their pretty little faces you can see its OBVIOUS somethings up..... if this had been real, thats fucking wrong.... and it would be a sick pedophiles dream come true to snatch a kid under false pretense and nobody would know

[Clubhouse]

I think that the possible accusations of being a pedo by the "passer-bys" would put men who are by themselves off....I know I would have been concerned and glad it was in a shopping centre, I would have entered a store and asked for the assistance of security staff.

[Photoplay]

Being an older female, Id stop immediately. But can totally understand a male possibly being more apprehensive about stopping. Listening to one of the public saying he would attempt to bring in a third party and ask for security attendance. ~ Well thought out response.

[Blewvane]

It's a discusting world we live in where people are either too absorbed in themselves or afraid of being branded a pedo than seeing if the kid needed help.

[Clubhouse]

Agreed, even if I was with my missus and come across a lost child I'd still stop another woman or women to help, if not I'd call the police.

[Megamel29]

That's terrible. I would definitely have tried to help them. Some weeks ago I was at Walmart and I saw this little boy near the registers who looked about to cry and was by himself. He was probably around 9. Anyway it turned out he got split up from his grampa. I took him to the service center so they could call for him. When the little boy was asked what his grampa's name was, he said 'Grampa'. It was pitiful.

[ak74]

the UK has turned into a filthy shitehole,, the only thing keeping me here is the free healthcare i,ve payed into all my life

[Nasty Nuggets]

U never know what's going to happen. I could stop and help and next thing u know, the mother turns around thinking I'm trying to kidnap the girl. Better off just keeping to urself nowadays.

[icheerthebull]

Originally Posted by Clubhouse ↗

I think that the possible accusations of being a pedo by the "passer-bys" would put men who are by themselves off....I know I would have been concerned and glad it was in a shopping centre, I would have entered a store and asked for the assistance of security staff.

This. I saw a lost kid when I was in Barcelona last, told my mate to keep an eye on her and went and got security. I'm not saying I'd walk away and do nothing but I would be very reluctant to approach a child unless it was very very clear they were in distress