Toddler slips through White House fence, gets apprehended by Secret Service on lawn

Boy got a "timeout" and was returned to parents

The White House is widely thought of as one of the most secure places on earth. (Getty)

A toddler breached White House security last night, slipping through the fence that encircles the White House, with the Secret Service joking that they'll need to wait until he can talk to question the tiny runaway.

The boy, name unknown, gave his parents the slip and squeezed through the fence around 8pm ET, as reporters awaited a statement from President Obama.

Possibly a new and unusual living terrorist device, possibly just a boy who spotted the nice, soft grass, he was swiftly rounded up by guards and returned to his parents.

"We were going to wait until he learned to talk to question him," Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan told reporters. "But in lieu of that he got a timeout and was sent on way with parents."

At least one guard wasn't impressed however:

The White House has a history of bizarre security breaches, a stolen Cessna plane having crash landed on the South Lawn in 1994 and a naked man having been tackled at the gate earlier this year.