A topless blunder at White House!

Washington: A man wearing no shoes or shirt and carrying no identification tried to climb over the fence along the North Lawn of the White House, the Secret Service said.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren said uniformed agents arrested 30-year-old Michael Talley, a Washington resident with no permanent address, at about 0420 IST (2250 GMT) yesterday, before he reached the top of the fence.

"He seemed to have the intent to go over," Zahren said.

Talley was taken to a Washington police station and will be charged with unlawful entry, a misdemeanour in the District of Columbia.

President George W Bush had returned from a trip to Florida and was in the White House when Talley tried to climb the fence.