A Delaware man has been charged with drunk driving after his vehicle hit US President Joe Biden’s motorcade, Wilmington police say, describing the incident as an “accidental collision”.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden were getting into their vehicle late on Sunday (local time) when the man crashed into a motorcade four-wheel-drive about 60 metres away from them.

Both were unharmed in the incident, which unfolded outside the President’s campaign headquarters.

The man, a 46-year-old from Wilmington, was charged with driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and inattentive driving, a spokesman for the Wilmington Police Department said

Police did not identify him by name.

The US Secret Service said “there was no protective interest associated with this event”.

Television footage of the incident showed security officers surrounding the man’s vehicle after he crashed into one of the motorcade’s SUVs.

Agents cornered the car, a silver sedan, and pulled weapons on the man, who held his hands up.