How one woman fell head over heels for the handsome stranger she met in a TAXI (and no, it's not the plot of a Hollywood rom com!)

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A beautiful young woman escapes a bad date by phoning for a taxi and ends up falling in love with the handsome stranger sitting in the front seat.

It might sound like the plot of a big screen romantic comedy but this is the real-life story of how Hayley Mitchell, 27, met boyfriend Charlie Algar, 28, nine months ago. 

In a scene reminiscent of Hollywood chick flick The Back-up Plan, their paths crossed, entirely by coincidence, when they shared the same UberPOOL home from Clapham, south London, one night in April last year.

Then just strangers, the pair chatted happily for the 10-minute journey before Charlie, an entrepreneur, asked Miss Mitchell for her phone number. 

Meeting on the move: Hayley Mitchell, 27, ordered an UberPOOL, which allows users to split the fare with other passengers, and was put in a car with entrepreneur Charlie Algar, pictured

Lasting love: The couple have celebrated their first Christmas and have moved in together

'It seemed a little too good to be true,' she told MailOnline. But it wasn't.

Two days later she received a text from 'Charlie Uber' - the name she has kept in her phone book - and they arranged their first date, at a bar near Battersea.

Asked how it went, Hayley said simply: 'We just hit it off.'

The following day she was so excited her colleagues suspected she had met something special, and teased she had met 'the one'.  

Fast forward to October last year and the couple moved in together. They now live just 50ft from where the Uber picked up Hayley. 

Hayley said: 'We have celebrated our first Christmas together and we are looking forward to our first Valentine's together.' 

Miss Mitchell, a manager at St George's Hospital, in London, said she had gone on a date with another man but 'it was clearly not going well'.

'I was making my excuses quite quickly,' she said. 

She went to order an Uber but accidentally requested an UberPool, which allows customers travelling in the same direction to share a car and split the fare. 

But Hayley was not expecting another passenger so when she received an alert to say 'Charlie' was on his way in a car, she assumed it was the driver. 

'There was someone in the front seat so I thought he must be a learner Uber driver or something,' she said. 

Once he introduced himself she realised what had happened and said: 'Oh, you're Charlie'.

Miss Mitchell said: 'He thought that I knew him. I went along with it and said: "I can't believe you don't remember me" and he looked very pale all of a sudden. 

Instant attraction: At the end of the 10-minute journey Mr Algar asked for Miss Mitchell's number. The couple, pictured, have now been together for nine months

'He went on for about 10 minutes listing all these places we might have known each other from.' 

She admitted what she had done before they pulled up at his house. Fortunately, Charlie saw the funny side.

Hayley said: 'It was coming up to the Bank Holiday weekend at the start of May and he said: "What are you doing this weekend?"

'Because it had all happened so quickly, it sort of seemed a little to good to be true. But it wasn't and he text two days later.' 

She added it was 'so much nicer' to be able to tell friends and family that they met 'in real life' in an age where dating is dominated by social media. 

Rare: Miss Mitchell admitted it is 'so much nicer to be able to say you met someone in real life' in the age of dating apps and websites. Pictured, the couple together

The romantic coincidence recalls a scene in 2010 film The Back Up Plan, which sees Jennifer Lopez's character meet the love of her life when they try to hail the same taxi.

And much like the fictional characters, Hayley and Charlie have also found their happily ever after.

The couple are looking forward to celebrating their first anniversary in April.

And while they haven't been back in an UberPool together since, the night still holds a special place in their hearts.   

Hayley added: 'We always joke we should send the Uber driver a bottle of Champagne!'