Action film star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was stopped by Australian police for cycling without a helmet, a local news report said today.

Schwarzenegger was in Melbourne - where it is illegal to cycle without a helmet - to host a body-building event and attend the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Victoria police senior constable Robert Gillson told Fairfax Media the Austrian-born actor was among a group of cyclists intercepted during a routine patrol in the city’s South Bank yesterday.

“We spoke to him briefly and had a little chat with him about the reason why I pulled him over,” Gillson was quoted as saying.

He told Fairfax Media he decided to send Schwarzenegger to the nearest 7-Eleven to buy a helmet rather than fine him.

“He was very likeable and very approachable, Gillson said. “He stated that his father was a policeman, so there was very much mutual respect there.”

- dpa