Man arrested for being inside US President's safety zone

Leon Rodrigues, the driver of the silver Nissan Titan pickup was stopped at barricades to the Obama vacation home by the Secret Service, which is responsible for the protection of the US President and his family, he fled down the freeway towards town.

The driver was arrested a short time later by the local police, the Secret Service spokesman, Edwin Donovan said. Secret Service was not involved in the chase and the arrest.

The activity, he emphasised, was unrelated to the President's visit. An investigation continues by the Honolulu Police Department.

Obama, who arrived at his vacation home late Wednesday night, spent the first day of his vacation playing golf – his first full golf outing in nearly two months.

His last 18 holes was on October 24, after which he was bogged down in the mid-term election campaign. Soon after the elections he left for his 10-day Asia tour that took him to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan.

Obama is set to be in Hawaii over Christmas and New Year's, with the White House revealing earlier in the week that he plans on reading novels, working on his State of the Union speech and spending time with family and old friends.