IT could have been a scene from Robocop as the 8ft metallic robot lurched towards crowds of youngsters.

Titan was followed by a crowd of children and adults as he put on a 15-minute show in Durham's Prince Bishops Shopping Centre.

Complete with sound effects and puffs of smoke, the cyber creation kept shoppers fascinated and entertained by playing music, including Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World, to promote the opening of an O2 mobile phone shop.

Nik Fielding, from Cornwall, wore the fibreglass robot costume, which cost him £30,000 to build. The former car sprayer, who got the idea while he was unemployed, said: "People are quite surprised when they see it. They often just think it will be a silver man going 'I am a robot'.

"Some people like Titan when they see him, but others, often women, will be completely petrified. The kids get scared, but they want more.

"A woman once came up to us and said she had had a heart murmur, but that she got such a shock when she saw our robot that it corrected itself.

"Although Titan is scary-looking, he is friendly really."