Secret Service nabs toddler who squeezed through White House fence

US Secret Service stepped into action on Tuesday after a toddler slipped through the bars of iron fencing surrounding the White House.

Officers swept across the North Lawn to retrieve the child, who had entered from the north side of the lawn.

The child's feet dangled in the air as an officer carried him back to his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Access to the White House was temporarily restricted while the pint-size problem was resolved.

President Biden was inside the executive mansion at the time of the security breach, according to his public schedule.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi reported officers "encountered a curious young visitor".

"The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited," Mr Guglielmi said in a statement.

Officers reportedly questioned the parents briefly before the family resumed their day.

The $64m fence around the executive mansion is 13ft (3.9m) tall. It's roughly double the size of its previous height, which was increased during a recent construction project to enhance White House safety. It is not only taller - the gaps between posts are also wider by an inch.

In 2014, another toddler - dubbed the "fence baby" - uninvitingly crept onto White House grounds.

"We were going to wait until he learned to talk to question him, but in lieu of that he got a timeout and was sent on [his] way with his parents," a Secret Service spokesman said, according to USA Today.