So, do you really care?

Last week a woman who had been mugged in Kent was left sprawled half in the road by her attackers. Passing motorists ignored her plight and drove by.

We decided to test how compassionate the people of Sussex were. The Argus took drama student Emma Quest around the county to pose as a woman in need of help and timed how quickly people came to her aid. The results were surprising and shocking.

Brighton, four minutes and 10 seconds:

Brighton seafront was bright, breezy and busy when Emma slumped to the ground just in front of the Palace Pier.

As she lay against the railings three youths ambled towards her. They slowed down and cast a glance at her before carrying on their way.

A man on a bike cycled past Emma and looked closely at her.

He hesitated and appeared to be going to stop but then carried on his way. A minute later he returned but again cycled past and crossed the road.

A bearded man with long hair then walked past, cast an unconcerned glance at her and carried on his way.

A rollerblader whizzed up and seemed not to notice Emma lying a few meters to his left.

Then a man clutching a cup of coffee walked past. He did a double take at Emma but carried on with his coffee and his walk.

Finally, three ice-cream eating pensioners came to Emmas rescue.

Iris Beeken and sisters Jean and Mavis Hamer stopped to see if she was okay.

Mavis, 71, on holiday from Peterborough, said: "At first we thought it might be something to do with drugs but even if it was, we couldn't just leave her lying there in the cold."

Hove, two minutes and 55 seconds:

When Emma collapsed on grass just outside Dyke Road Park, the road was busy with motorists and pedestrians.

Two teenage boys walked past almost immediately, laughed and shouted "loser" at her.

A middle-aged woman walking her dog spotted Emma and appeared concerned. She twice glanced back to look at her but did not stop to help.

Two elderly women passed by but ignored Emma and walked around her to the back of a cafe.

Laura Hills and Cassie Grist, students at Brighton, Hove & Sussex Sixth Form College, strolled past Emma and then stopped. After a moment's discussion they went to see if she was okay.

Laura, 17 and Cassie, 16, both from The Martlets, South Chailey, said they thought Emma had had a fit.

Laura said: "We just wanted see if she needed help."

Newhaven, 35 seconds:

Shopper Shirley Harvie made a bee-line for Emma as soon as she saw her keel over outside Woolworths.

Two men clutching shopping bags had already walked round her and one elderly man stopped to look but didn't intervene.

Shirley, from Rustic Park, Peacehaven, said: "As I came out of the dry cleaners I saw her lying there and I thought, 'Surely someone is going to help her?' but no one stopped. I could never just walk past without checking if they were okay."

Seaford, 45 seconds:

Taxi drivers sitting outside Seaford railway station didn't leap out of their cabs when Emma plunged to the ground.

She lay on the pavement until commuters pouring out of the station stopped to help.

First to her aid was childminder Lynsey Wright, 29, from Friston, who bent down to check if Emma was hurt.

She said: "I thought she might have been drunk or had fainted. She looked pretty out of it so I thought I had better check."

Lifeguard Hayley Spragg also came to Emma's aid, screeching to a halt in her car and leaping out to help.

She said: "It's probably the lifeguard in me but I just saw her go down and thought I'd better see if I can help. It was an instant reaction."

Standing behind Emma, two elderly women remained chatting throughout the mini drama.

Worthing, 50 seconds:

Emma slumped to the ground near the war memorial outside Worthing Town Hall and in less than a minute she had two good Samaritans on hand.

Nurse Tina Martin, who had been driving by with her husband and three children, jumped out of the car and ran to her.

Shopper Laurie Evans, 71, also stopped to check if she needed help.

Laurie, a retired lorry driver, from Storrington, said: "When I saw her I thought about the woman who had been in the news last week. But I like to think I would have come over anyway - I'm nosy!"

Tina, 35, also from Storrington, said: "My husband Kevin saw her fall and pulled over.

"As a nurse I have a duty to help anyway but as a mother with a young family I would not want to just leave her there."

Steyning, 30 seconds:

Emma had barely hit the ground in the High Street before shop assistant Kayleigh Bellinger and customer Barry Pritchard came to help her.

Kayleigh, 17, from Beech Close, saw Emma collapse through the shop window and dashed out.

Barry, 48, an air conditioning engineer from School Road, Upper Beeding, had spotted Emma looking 'unwell' as he entered the shop and turned on his heel when he realised she had collapsed.

Kayleigh said: "I just wanted to make sure she was okay. It frightened the life out of me to see her fall like that."

Barry said: "I would always help anyone and have stopped when old people have fallen in the street. I like being the knight in shining armour. Anyway, she might have needed the kiss of life!"

The Damsel in Distress:

Emma, 17, is a second year drama student at City College, Brighton & Hove.

She used her performance skills to feign realistic faints and collapses.

She was smartly dressed with her hair neatly tied in a pony tail and was not carrying a bag or any bottles that might have been mistaken for alcohol.

The experience left her shocked.

She said: "What shocked me was the amount of people who had seen me but just walked past. I thought at the very least, if they didn't want to get involved, they might call an ambulance, but no one did.

"Those who did stop were lovely - ready to help and very relieved to find I was okay. But sometimes I was there for such a long time before anyone came to help.

"If I collapsed for real, I'd hope I wouldn't have to wait for more than four minutes for someone to come and help, like I did in Brighton.

Emma, from Steyning, said it had changed her view of how she would respond to someone in need.

"I might still be a bit wary if it was a man but I'd always call an ambulance or the police and wait until it came."

The Argus informed Sussex Ambulance Service of the experiment so their time and expertise was not wasted.