Action star Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken a sedate cable car ride across the Thames in central London, despite being accompanied by the city's sometimes haphazard mayor Boris Johnson.

The former California governor and Hollywood film star, in the capital to promote latest film The Expendables 2, took the recently-opened service with the London Mayor to watch the US team win basketball gold.

He was keen to try out the service, which opened in June and has been carrying an average of 20,000 passengers a day during the Games, as it was built by a firm from his native Austria.

Mr Johnson joked this week that no-one would vote for "a prat who gets stuck in a zip wire" after a publicity stunt ended with him dangling in mid air above a London park waving Union Jacks as he awaited rescue.

Schwarzenegger said: "I love coming to London and the energy here right now is amazing.

"The Olympics have been thrilling to watch, and the city has really stepped up to the plate to highlight the greatness of athletic spirit."