A woman has been arrested after crashing her car into the barricades protecting the White House.

The woman, said to be known to the Secret Service, drove into the protective barrier at around 3.10pm local time.

She was immediately detained, and no shots were fired. No one was injured.

Traffic around the area was diverted, as the Secret Service dealt with the incident - which came shortly after President Donald Trump and his Australian counterpart, Malcolm Turnbull, held a press conference inside the White House.

The area was filled with journalists filing out of the press conference, and the Australian press pack was briefly keep inside the White House perimeter while the situation unfolded.