IT would be something that action movie-lovers could only dream of -an encounter between superhuman law-enforcement agent RoboCop and near-invincible cyborg The Termin- ator.

But while such a meeting must be consigned to fantasy, or video game wizardry, the North-East's own "RoboCop", Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon, could come face-to-face with The Terminator himself, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And although the unlikely get-together may not be as exciting as one between the two fictional action heroes, it could help put Middlesbrough firmly on the map as a leader in sustainable development.

The meeting is being set up by BioRegional Quintain, the company behind Middlesbrough's £200m Middlehaven development, in which part of the town's docklands will be transformed into modern apartments, shops and offices.

The sustainable, carbon-neutral development, which will make use of hydrogen fuel cell technology, has received the full backing of former Detective Superintendent Mallon, who earned his RoboCop title in the Nineties with his zero-tolerance approach to crime.

And yesterday, BioRegional's managing director, Peter Halsall, drew parallels between the Mayor and actor-now-politician Schwarzenegger, the 38th Governor of California, who also supports the development of a sustainable "hydrogen economy".

Talking at a business event in Middlesbrough, Mr Halsall said: "We are brokering a 'RoboCop v Terminator' style meeting between Ray Mallon and Arnie Schwarzenegger.

"Both guys are presenting themselves as catalysers of a new hydrogen economy, so the idea is to get the two of them together."

It wouldn't be the first time 51-year-old Mr Mallon has met a high-profile figure from the US.

In the Nineties, as a detective inspector at Hartlepool, his success in reducing crime by 43 per cent led to him being likened to William Bratton, the police commissioner of New York.

It resulted in a documentary being broadcast on television, in which Mr Bratton was brought to Hartlepool to meet Mr Mallon and compare tactics.

Speaking yesterday of his possible meeting with Schwarzenegger, Mr Mallon said: "I am interested in anything that will help further the cause of renewable energy and sustainable living, so if a meeting with Arnold Schwarzenegger does that, then I am all for it.

"We have to realise that global warming is now a bigger threat to the planet than terrorism and we have to make renewable living a priority."