Police said the couple were in “an intimate situation”.

“I don’t think the dog’s appearance had a particularly positive impact on the couple’s situation. They would probably have been happier to continue doing what they were doing in privacy,” Stefan Gustafsson, a spokesperson for Swedish police in the country’s western region told news agency TT.

The unfortunate incident occurred just after midnight on Monday, when police were called out to a residential area on the outskirts of western city Gothenburg.

Witnesses had reported seeing a man and a woman attempting to break open a door into a building.

When the police arrived they could hear from the outside that people were already inside the premises. They released their police dog, which acted as an instant passion killer.

“Committing a crime was obviously not the intent in itself. Something else drove them, but it wasn’t illegal,” Gustafsson explained.

The couple, who were identified and questioned on the spot, are now suspected of trespassing. No one was arrested.