An opportunist thief masquerading as a newspaper seller got more than he bargained for when he tried to swipe a mobile phone from under the nose of a sunbathing Swedish policewoman.

Off-duty officer Mikaela Kellner was catching some rays in a Stockholm waterside public park on Wednesday, when she leapt into action to catch a pickpocket while wearing only a bikini.

A picture of Kellner pinning down the thief in her ‘civvies’ has since gone viral after she posted it to Instagram.

Captioning the incredible snap “Beware of pickpockets,” Kellner explained how the robber had initially approached her and some friends, offering to sell them a newspaper for homeless people.

On placing the newspapers down in front the group, according to Kellner the man then tried to snatch one of their smartphones.

What happened next could not have been expected as Kellner sprinted 15 meters through the park to tackle the man.

En stackars hemlös kille som man kan tro försöker göra rätt för sig. Han säljer tidningar istället för att tjuva!! När vi avböjer att köpa hans tidningar passar han på att stjäla min kompis mobiltelefon!! Väldigt skickligt av honom då han smyger ner sina tidningar över mobilen och får sedan med sig den med lätthet!! Osis för denna kille att han råkade sno av två poliser👮🏻👮🏻!! Mitt första ingripande iklädd bikini under mina 11 år som polis!! Ganska kul och trivsamt måste jag säga 😂😂! Se upp för ficktjuvar, håll koll på era värdesaker!! A photo posted by mikaelakellner (@mikaelakellner) on Jul 27, 2016 at 7:18am PDT

“I did not hesitate. Had I been naked, I would have also intervened. It was a little funny that I grabbed him in a bikini,” she told Aftonbladet.

The ‘bikini arrest’ image has since garnered thousands of likes on social media.

“I am very happy that I posted the picture. The aim was to draw attention to how easy it is to be robbed,” she added.