Dutch police have taken to TikTok to urge youngsters not to post fake videos of homeless burglars in their houses after it triggered a spate of call-outs.

Police say they have been called out dozens of times by concerned parents who were victims of a prank by their children, after they sent AI-generated clips showing an intruder standing in their home.

On at least two occasions the police helicopter has been used to search the neighbourhood for the phantom housebreaker because parents believed he had stolen items from their home.

A video posted by a uniformed officer called “politie Frans” shows him trying to grab a bearded man in ragged clothing who turns out to be a motionless image.

He then turns to the camera and says: “Pranks are great fun, but make sure they don’t get out of hand, agreed?”

@politie_frans Pranken is suuperleuk, maar laat het niet te ver uit de hand lopen! (De heli ging vliegen omdat bij deze prank de zwerver spullen had gestolen, een woninginbraak dus) voor nu is hij eindelijk aangehouden 🤣🤣#zwerver #ai #prank #politie #aiprank ♬ origineel geluid – Politie Frans