The man entered the house at 6am on Friday, whereupon the householder hit the man on the head, according to the Finnmarken newspaper.

"It seems as though he quite simply got the wrong door," said Einar Ingilæ of Kirkines police.

"He was visiting another home in the same building, and went for a walk out at some point. When he went back, he went to the family's door, which was locked," Ingilæ told Finnmarken.

The intruder lost consciousness and was given ‘life-saving’ treatment by paramedics on the scene, according to Nordlys newspaper. The man was take to hospital and regained consciousness later in the morning.

“He has been treated and is now under observation. He has sustained minor to negligible damage , said Eilert Sundt of the local health authority.

Children were present when he entered the building. Ingilæ says police have not yet determined whether the householder was acting in self-defence:

“There’s a limit to what can be defined as lawful self-defence, but we’ll have to take a view on this later.”