The Great British Public hit new lows

[HardStaringBearFromDarkestPeru]

Yesterday morning I was driving on a busy main road, plenty of traffic. I notice a young girl walking along the pavement on the opposite side.

She's is wearing just a T-shirt, no shoes & is Middle Eastern in appearance.

Next mini-roundabout I do a U-turn, drive back with my hazards on & get up on the pavement in front of her, getting a lot of abuse from other drivers along the way.

The girl is about 8/9 years old, really placid & keeps saying her parents are up ahead but don't worry she knows where her house is.
She was wearing knickers along with her T-shirt but nothing else - she told me she forgot to put her trousers & shoes on that morning.
English was her first language, she was unsure of her name yet was content to sit alongside me, a total stranger with a different skin colour to her own.
She was almost abnormally docile - it was really disturbing to see.

The 999 call handler was brilliant.
As soon as I mentioned child safeguarding & my fears for both our safety, she dispatched a vehicle before I had given her any details beyond my name & address. The car arrives within 10mins of my call.

The officers were fantastic with the girl & she was happy to get in their car. They even guided me back into the traffic.

She was a young girl on her own. At first glance she looked naked from the waist down. With her skin colour she stuck out like a sore thumb in a predominantly white area.

And yet people just drove straight past.
Disgusting behaviour. This isn't loo roll or petrol, we're talking about a young child. Just when you think the Great British Public can't sink any lower, they do.

(I've not heard back from the police but they have my details. I hope the girl is now safe)

Men are reluctant to get involved in these situations as they could end up accused of anything.

That's ridiculous
"A dangerous place to stop" well if a deer or fox leaps out at you you bloody well slam the breaks on. Experienced road users should know to expect unexpected stoppages. That's why you should always keep a proper stopping distance and be alert on blind corners etc.

It also says only pull up / park where it is safe to do so and not impede the flow of traffic.

People just don't want to to help others any more. It's something that is happening a lot now especially post-Covid

I have been on this earth for over 50 years and can say that it has never been different. COVID or no Covid - people act selfishly.

Nice bit of virtue signalling from OP though.

@Plantstrees thats a good idea for lone males, will pass on to DP. He would always try to help anyone in need but occasionally worries about something like that. Just stopping nearby and calling for help is a good plan.

Well done, OP. I'm 'that woman', too. I think it's down to me to check it out. I knew there were others out there.

What a chilling thing. Well done, OP- you may have saved that poor girl's life. I hope she is going to be looked after now.

a sociology lecturer I knew used to illustrate [bystander effect] annually by pretending to have a heart attack in front of a full 300-seater lecture theatre)

News like that gets around, so the second and subsequent performances won't have been valid demonstrations.

I’m very proud of you for noticing and stopping. You may have saved this little girl’s life. I did this yesterday (I’m in Australia) - found a little boy sitting in the middle of a traffic island looking dazed. Peak hour traffic. Everyone kept going past. I stopped at a service station not far up and walked back. He’d broken his wrist. I called his mum and waited until she arrived, then went back for my first aid kit and put his arm in a slink so she could get him to A&E. I also suggested that he might have a concussion as he was far too relaxed.

Well I have to disagree with your opening statement about the Great British public because you are a member of that group and you did exactly the right thing.

I gave up on people helping when I fell down the stairs in a busy public place when I was 8 months pregnant. I took a real tumble from top to bottom and people literally stepped over me. No one stopped to even ask if I was ok. I'd never expect anyone else to put themselves out after that.

My Dad saw a little boy - around 2/3 he said, stood in the middle of the road outside his house.

He obviously ran out and then he thought "I can't pick him up, someone will think I am trying to steal him"

So he just stood in the road stopping the cars and kind of ushered him to the side 🤦‍♀️

Thankfully his Mum came out and was grateful.

@Rockbird Oh my goodness! How awful - I am so sorry to hear that. I hope you and you baby were all ok.
I just can't believe that (I mean I do but I am shocked). Where were you?

Thank you for doing the decent thing OP.

Are you thinking she might have been a victim of child trafficking or something? I’m trying to find an explanation for why she would be where she was in a confused state with few clothes.

Well done Op you did a good thing.
Sadly some posters on here are only interested in picking apart what you've written.

@HardStaringBearFromDarkestPeru

Yesterday morning I was driving on a busy main road, plenty of traffic. I notice a young girl walking along the pavement on the opposite side.

She's is wearing just a T-shirt, no shoes & is Middle Eastern in appearance.

Next mini-roundabout I do a U-turn, drive back with my hazards on & get up on the pavement in front of her, getting a lot of abuse from other drivers along the way.

The girl is about 8/9 years old, really placid & keeps saying her parents are up ahead but don't worry she knows where her house is.
She was wearing knickers along with her T-shirt but nothing else - she told me she forgot to put her trousers & shoes on that morning.
English was her first language, she was unsure of her name yet was content to sit alongside me, a total stranger with a different skin colour to her own.
She was almost abnormally docile - it was really disturbing to see.

The 999 call handler was brilliant.
As soon as I mentioned child safeguarding & my fears for both our safety, she dispatched a vehicle before I had given her any details beyond my name & address. The car arrives within 10mins of my call.

The officers were fantastic with the girl & she was happy to get in their car. They even guided me back into the traffic.

She was a young girl on her own. At first glance she looked naked from the waist down. With her skin colour she stuck out like a sore thumb in a predominantly white area.

And yet people just drove straight past.
Disgusting behaviour. This isn't loo roll or petrol, we're talking about a young child. Just when you think the Great British Public can't sink any lower, they do.

(I've not heard back from the police but they have my details. I hope the girl is now safe)

I'm just so pleased for people like you in the world OP, caring and kind. This was a lovely post to read! Lovely about your helping anyway, the others ignoring the little girl is so depressing. Just shows that one person can always make a difference.

You have no idea how many other passers by had also called the police

I think it was Terry Pratchett who wrote something about the propensity of people to think "Someone should do something" but then not to follow that thought up with "..and that someone should be me." Can't remember the exact quotation. But it's a very well-recognised phenomenon.

Regardless of the odd details in OP's post, she did the right thing, and I agree with the PP who said a lone male could and should have intervened by remaining close by and calling the police.

I've intervened in the past when a woman obviously needed help, and I would do so again. If I didn't feel safe, I could at least be present and ring for help.

It IS worrying that many people would ignore a child in need. But I believe there's a percentage who would notice and would help.

Is it that they are ignoring the child or just not noticing?

I don't think what the child was wearing would probably register with most drivers, I wouldn't tend to look at a child's legs or would probably just assume they had shorts on. And a brown child being in a predominantly white area certainly wouldn't flag up as a safeguarding concern.

The whole thing is odd tbh. Why would a middle Eastern child with English as their first language be scared to sit alongside an adult because they are white?

Would you need to say child safeguarding to the police, I think it's fairly obvious that they are going to be panicked by Ive found a lone child in just their knickers.

I'm glad you stopped, and I hope the girl is now safe

@theThreeofWeevils

a sociology lecturer I knew used to illustrate [bystander effect] annually by pretending to have a heart attack in front of a full 300-seater lecture theatre) News like that gets around, so the second and subsequent performances won't have been valid demonstrations.

Exactly! It's rather an arseholic thing to do anyway

News like that gets around, so the second and subsequent performances won't have been valid demonstrations

And then it happens for real and the class is thinking 'ha, ha, Prof! I'm not falling for that old chestnut!'

Aye, but that's a good thing, ikiboo. Promotes healthy turnover, new ideas, and a better class of drunken anecdote.

If this was a white child, would you have been more focused on possible neglect/abuse fron the psrents rather than the reactions from complete strangers, odd post 🙄

Loving the idea of outwardly posting a 'British public are shit' post when actually it's a 'look what I did, please tell me how amazing I am' post

Based on what the OP has said I would think the child has been trafficked.