BERLIN (AFP) - Over 200 Berlin police officers have been sent home after throwing an alcohol-fuelled party topped with sex in public in Hamburg, which is hosting a world leaders' summit next week.

The 220 cops had been dispatched to the northern port city to help keep law and order during the July 7-8 Group of 20 summit expected to draw tens of thousands of anti-globalisation protesters.

But before assuming their duties, the officers threw a wild party at their temporary lodgings, with some seen having sex in public, urinating in a group against a fence and strip-dancing with weapons, local media reported Tuesday.

"One female officer was seen dancing on a table dressed only in a bathrobe with a weapon in her hand," said BZ daily, which published photos of the cops posing with their drinks as well as the dining site in disarray after the party.

Berlin police confirmed the embarrassing incident on Twitter, saying: "Our police chiefs were told that our hundred-strong backup force to Hamburg have been prematurely released from duty.

"The reason was misconduct at their accommodation on site," they added.

The police force of Germany's party capital Berlin is no stranger to controversy.

In January, an officer raised eyebrows after it was revealed that he had acted in a porn film before joining the force.

Others preferred to view the latest scandal with mirth.

"Berlin police probably won more secret fans today than through the last 60 years' PR campaigns," wrote former Social Democrat lawmaker Lars Oberg