MIDDLESBROUGH Mayor Ray Mallon knows something the weathermen don't - he hopes.
While TV forecasters predict rain, rain and more rain, Middlesbrough's optimistic first citizen went on a convertible civic car run-around yesterday.
He swapped his Smart Pulse car for a silver Passion Cabriolet.
"I think some people have the notion that green cars are boring - well, you certainly could not say that about this model," said Mr Mallon, who got behind the wheel of the eco-friendly car rather than the official civic limousine, a four-litre Jaguar.
The man who reckons he has driven more than 100 different cars in his 30 years of driving said: "The beauty of this deal is that we are saving public cash and at the same time encouraging motorists to think about being more eco-friendly."
He said the money saved through a sponsorship deal with Rhycroft Garages, in Stockton, would pay the wages of a street warden for a year.
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