One in three of us admit that we wouldn’t intervene to protect a stranger.

A 12-year-old girl is beaten and stamped on by a crowd of teenagers on a crowded bus. A man is punched to the ground and kicked repeatedly in the head on a London street. Gun-wielding robbers threaten a cashier in an off-licence.

This film examines the events leading up to these unprovoked attacks as bystanders describe what happened. The first-hand testimony of the witnesses is intercut with dramatic reconstruction. The stories unfold to reveal the split-second choices the bystanders had to make- whether to intervene or not. Whilst some are seemingly paralysed by fear, others step in and some escaped unscathed , and pay a heavy price for their courage.

Whether they choose the path of a ‘have a go hero’ or passive bystander, their decisions will stay with them for the rest of their lives.