Heroic passersby were filmed trying to stop a gang of phone muggers who had tried to rob a city worker in London yesterday.
A woman, who can be seen wearing a backpack in dramatic footage of the attack, chases not one but two of the men who are trying to escape on electric bikes.
And a motorbike courier, seen wearing a red jacket and black helmet in the clip, appears not to notice as the shorter of the two muggers slashes at him with a knife.
Meanwhile a city worker, with his bag across his shoulder, dives at one of the gang who had been pulled off his bike by another passerby.
In the video a passerby dressed in black is also seen throwing a few punches, while appearing unaware of the presence of a knife as he gets stuck in again and again.
Police have said they are still hunting two mobile phone muggers who were seen fleeing the scene despite the efforts of those nearby.
Emergency crews rushed to the scene in Bishopsgate, near Liverpool Street Station - just yards from a police station - on Thursday.
A male witness, 27, who didn’t want to be named, told the Mirror of how he watched a "middle aged man" fighting a teenager after the latter attempted what "looked like a robbery".
"Then a guy on the white moped there pulled up and got involved to help out and he ended up getting stabbed as well."
The witness said the second man was stabbed at least twice, once in right side of chest, and once in the left side of his back.
“He dropped to his knees, then I couldn’t see properly because there were so many people. He was laid on the floor bleeding.”
"Then a third guy got injured in the head. He was the one that was bleeding the most."
"Lots of people got involved, about five kids and pedestrians, some were just watching. Some were trying to split up the fight," the witness added.
"A man ran into this building (22 Bishopsgate), I guess to get away from the fighting.
"Next minute, the teenager, all in black, took off running. By this point you couldn’t really tell who was fighting who. The whole thing last two minutes.”
Terrifying images from the area shows blood splattered on pavements outside a glass office building - which was placed under lockdown, along with several others nearby.
A delivery driver who witnessed the incident said: "The attackers tried to steal someone’s phone.
"Then three pedestrians and one guy on a motorbike came to help and they got attacked."
Police arrived at the scene within five minutes and are now seeking two suspects in relation to the attacks and attempted robberies.
Chief Supt Steve Heatley, of City of London Police, said: "Two suspects are being sought as part of the ongoing investigation related to an attempted phone theft and the incident is not being treated as terror-related."
He added: "Stopping phone thefts and bringing perpetrators to justice is a priority for City of London Police.
"The number of phone snatches is down, due to focused effort including working with colleagues in the Metropolitan Police Service last week to make several arrests."
Three people were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries after being stabbed in the ensuing melee just before 10am on Thursday.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that the incident was a “reminder of the dangers of carrying a knife”.
"We've seen across our country an increase in knife crime injuries," he said.
"I'm not complacent at all. I think it's really important to be tough on crime and invested in policing and tough on the complex causes of crime."
