Former Robocop Ray Mallon returned to his 'zero tolerance' days when he saw a woman being chased by a man on his old beat.

The former head of Middlesbrough CID, now the town's mayor, wrestled the thug to the ground and sat on him until police arrived.

Mr Mallon's police training came flooding back when the 46-year-old father-of-two strolled around Hartlepool's new Marina after visiting former colleagues on his old beat. He spotted a woman running out of a block of flats who tried to get into a car but was hauled out by the man.

The man then smashed another car's rear light before the mayor, who had initially tried to calm the man down, sprang into action.

After a brief scuffle, Mr Mallon wrestled him to ground in a headlock and sat on him while bystanders called the police.

Mr Mallon, who hit the headlines with his zero tolerance policing policy, detained the man for around 15 minutes until officers arrived shortly after 7pm on Boxing Day last week.

Mr Mallon said yesterday: ''I am sure other members of the public would have reacted in exactly the same way to assist this lady.

''What was very pleasing was that during the incident several members of the public approached and offered their assistance.

''I do believe the public should intervene to assist the police as long as they feel it is safe to do so.''

Mr Mallon was at the centre of the controversial Operation Lancet inquiry which looked at alleged malpractice within the force and despite being cleared of any criminal wrongdoing was found guilty of disciplinary matters.

The incident is not the first time Mr Mallon, who quit Cleveland Police in February, before being elected Mayor in May, has tackled suspected crooks while off duty.

In 1997, he chased a youth through gardens in Hartlepool after catching him trying to steal his car.

He caught up with the culprit who was later dealt with in court for attempted car theft. A Cleveland Police spokeswoman confirmed that officers were called to a disturbance.

''Mr Mallon was passing the address at the time and detained the male until police arrived,'' she said. ''A man was arrested for criminal damage and will be appearing in court in due course.''