Police rushed to the scene of an apparent burglary at a home in Melbourne’s south-east last night, only to find an unexpected and furry visitor.

The resident waited for officers to arrive after hearing what sounded like someone breaking into the home on Peppercorn Place in Yarra Junction about 11.30pm.

When they did, they expected to find an offender caught in the act. Instead, they discovered a koala calmly sitting in a dog bed, staring back at them.

“Police rushed to the scene and were surprised to hear the noise and that the person hadn’t fled,” an officer told 3AW.

“Instead of finding a burglar, they found a koala who had taken over the dog bed.

“We did the search to confirm the koala was the crook we were after.”

The koala didn’t waste any time leaving the scene, climbing a fence and walking away.

Meanwhile, Coco, the woman’s dog, who had been barking to alert her to the potential break-in, seemed unimpressed by the whole situation.