An Uber driver has recalled the moment a female customer asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend so that she could get away from a pushy man – and he obliged.

The driver, Brandon Gale, talked about the incident on Facebook and the post has since gone viral, with many praising his quick thinking support for the woman.

He began: “Last night, while driving for Uber, I got a call to pick up a woman from over by the fair. About 30 seconds after accepting the ride, the rider sent me a message via the app.

“When you get here, can you pretend to be my boyfriend?”

I didn't know to what capacity she meant, so I asked , 'What do you mean?’ She then said, ‘I just need you to act like you know me, and that you're not my Uber driver.’

Gale went one step further and removed the Lyft and Uber stickers from out of his window. He went one step short of removing his wedding ring, which he decided to keep out of the other man’s line of sight.

Before I got to the pickup, I took my Uber and Lyft stickers out of my window. Although I didn't feel comfortable removing my wedding ring, I made a mental note to keep it out of eyesight. When I got there, I had my window rolled down. When he arrived on location, there was a man and woman talking in the front yard.

He continued: “The woman was my fare and she set the scene immediately. She looked over and yelled, ‘Hi, Babe! I'll be right there!’

“I didn't want to leave her hanging, so i shouted back, ‘Awesome, because I'm starving!’ I waved at the guy. He half-assedly waved back.”

It wasn’t until she was in the safety of the car that the unnamed woman revealed what had happened.

She skipped to my car, got in, and we took off. Once we got out of the guy's sight, she told me the rest of her story. She went to the fair with a bunch of friends. In that group of friends was a guy that was very forward with her and wouldn't take no for an answer. He also had a history of being very aggressive. She thought that she could leave him behind by heading to her car, but he followed her, claiming to be a gentleman. Before they got to her car, she claimed to have lost her keys. He offered to give her a ride, and that's when she decided to call her ‘boyfriend.’

Gale concluded the story by urging men to be better.

This should never have had to happen. Men, learn to accept the word “no” as a response. Learn to take responsibility for your actions. Our sons are watching you and they're learning how to treat the women in their lives by example. Lead by a better one. Ladies, if you have the Uber or Lyft app, and you need an exit strategy, use the messaging system within the app. You can make special requests that could possibly save your life.

Brandon has been hailed a “hero”

Facebook user Jude Edens wrote to Gale: “ You are my Hero!” Another user, Kayla Shouse added: This is amazing! You are a true hero to this woman and she will always be thankful for you! Thank you for being able to read between the lines! The world needs more people like you! The post was liked over 1.3k times.