The Dutch Red Cross has launched a campaign to get mobile phone users to think twice before filming people who have been injured in an accident or who have been taken ill.

Last Saturday, 45 people were fined for filming an accident on the A58 and earlier in the week police blasted the crowd caught filming paramedics’ efforts to save the life of a man who had collapsed in a restaurant in The Hague.

‘Filming situations with your phone would appear to have become a reflex for some,’ Red Cross spokesman Nico Zuurmond said. ‘You could use the time you are spending on filming to dial 112 or offer first aid because it is those few minutes after an accident that are crucial.’

Research by the Red Cross shows that almost 90% of the Dutch think it is unacceptable to film people after an accident. The figure comes from an online poll of 700 people.

In Germany, broadcaster NOS pointed out, it is illegal to film people who need help without their permission. People who do so can be fined up to €1,000.