A 55-year-old man from Mölltal, who is a trained explosives officer, confessed to the prank which happened last autumn. A police officer fell into the trap and was covered in poo. The suspect told the police that he had wanted to make them look ridiculous.

The trap was triggered by a trip wire which connected to a bucket containing a firecracker and manure. It was placed in an area where police often do speed checks with laser speed guns on passing traffic.

A 58-year-old police officer stumbled over the trip wire and fell into the trap – but was lucky not to suffer any injury, the local police branch said. An axe was lying on the bucket, and its handle was broken when the firecracker went off.

A DNA sample on the firecracker finally led police to the suspect. Police chief Gottlieb Türk said that tracking him down had been a priority. “We wanted to set an example. We can’t allow colleagues who are just doing their job to be attacked.”