THE mayor once dubbed Robocop for his zero tolerance policing methods has been clocked doing 75mph in a 50mph zone on the M6 motorway.

Ray Mallon - the high-profile Mayor of Middlesbrough - was snapped by a speed camera as he drove through a section of road works three weeks ago.

Last night, he said he would pay the £60 fine and accept three penalty points on his licence for three years.

Mayor Mallon claimed, however, that he could have fought the conviction. But he could have faced a discretionary ban, up to a £2,500 fine or three to six points on his licence.

Mr Mallon - who drives a Smart car two-seater on his mayoral duties - said: "I could have appealed against the fine because the warning sign was not lit up, which by law it has to be.

"But everyone makes mistakes and I just accepted it.

"It is the first time I have had any endorsements on my licence and I thought I should just pay the £60 fine - it's just one of those things."

Guidelines issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers say anybody caught doing 25mph or more above the speed limit should not be given a fixed penalty, but should be reported for summons and put before a court.

But only some police forces - including Cleveland, where Mayor Mallon rose to the rank of Detective Superintendent before his suspension - recognise the guidelines.

Mick Bennett, public relations manager for the Cleveland Safety Camera Partnership and former head of the force's traffic department, said he was disappointed in his ex-colleague.

"This is not a good example for the mayor to set," he said.

"I would have thought that as an ex-police officer and someone of standing, he would have taken a little more care, especially in roadworks.

"There is only one reason why you have speed limits in roadworks, and that's for other people's safety - predominantly for the road workers."