RAY Mallon last night gave his support to David Cameron in the battle for the leadership of the Conservative Party.

Writing in a London evening newspaper, the independent mayor of Middlesbrough said of the old Etonian: "Something strange is happening here in the North-East. People are getting excited about a Tory politician in a way I've never seen.

"Having met David Davis, I believe he is a man of integrity who I'm sure would not let people down. But I - and many more people here in the North-East - see something in David Cameron that we like.

"We see leadership. We see a guy who knows where he's going, and who's got the character and the charisma to take people with him."

Mr Mallon's annual address to the people of Middlesbrough has just been moved to next Tuesday, and there is speculation that Mr Cameron may be in the region to hear it - just as Michael Howard was on Teesside in 2004 to hear Mr Mallon urge street wardens to break down doors and drag criminals to the police station.

After that visit, Mr Howard invited Mr Mallon to London to discuss the possibility of Mr Mallon standing on the Tory ticket in the Hartlepool by-election. At that meeting, Mr Mallon met Mr Cameron.

The North-East Labour Party also approached Mr Mallon with an offer to stand as its Hartlepool candidate, but Mr Mallon is believed to have said he could not be both Middlesbrough mayor and Hartlepool MP.

In yesterday's article, Mr Mallon stressed that he was "no Conservative supporter". Indeed, it is widely assumed that Mr Mallon's next move will be to replace Sir Stuart Bell, 67, as the Labour MP for Middlesbrough.

However, Mr Mallon is known to be disappointed at Labour's lack of progress on anti-social behaviour and believes that a more effective Opposition would drive the Government harder.

In the Evening Standard article, Mr Mallon said: "Many people know me because of my crime-fighting record. I've heard what David Cameron is saying about crime, and he's got all the right ideas: more power for local people to have a say over policing in their area; tough treatment for yobs instead of more speed cameras; dealing with the restrictive practices that stop the police giving communities the beat-based policing they need; and building more prisons to help cut crime.

"I'm also backing him because I see him as someone who can give people faith in politics again, ensure all sides of a debate are heard, all sectors of society represented and someone who will call the Government to account."

Mr Davis said of Mr Mallon yesterday: "He's a good man. He's an old friend of Michael Howard's, but I'm not sure he's a Tory voter."