OTTAWA (AFP) - Pop star Justin Bieber has been charged with dangerous driving and assault after his All-Terrain Vehicle collided with a minivan in the Canadian countryside, police said on Tuesday.

The crash occurred on Friday afternoon near his hometown of Stratford, Ontario where he was visiting family with his on-and-off-again girlfriend Selena Gomez.

Ontario Provincial Police Constable Kees Wijnands said that "after colliding, the driver of the ATV and an occupant of the minivan engaged in a physical altercation". No injuries were reported.

Local media said Bieber and Gomez had been taking turns driving the ATV while the other sat on the back.

Bieber was arrested at the scene but released on a promise to appear in a Stratford court on September 29 to answer to the criminal charges.

The troubled pop star has had several run-ins with the law recently.

Last month, he pleaded guilty to careless driving and resisting arrest in an alleged drag-racing incident in Florida.

In July he was sentenced in Los Angeles to two years' probation for egg-bombing his neighbours' home.

Bieber was also ordered to perform community service, join an anger management program, and pay the owners of the vandalised home more than $80,000 in repairs.

He also has a hearing pending in Toronto into accusations he assaulted a limousine driver last year