Richie arrested following sobriety test

Photorazzi / Janet Mayer

Nicole Richie has been arrested after she was found travelling in the wrong direction on a freeway.

The Simple Life star was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs after she failed a sobriety test administered by California Highway Patrol officers.

Officers intervened following a number of reports from motorists who had spotted a black Mercedes-Benz 4x4 travelling against the flow of traffic in the early hours of the morning.

"She volunteered the information that she had smoked marijuana and taken Vicodin," Sky News quotes CHP Officer Todd Workman as saying.

Richie was later released on $15,000 bail.