The grandson of the inventor of the Jif Lemon is keeping the family tradition alive by being awarded an OBE for an invention of his own.

Jeff Woolf, of Chatsworth Avenue, Hendon, was honoured for devising the Micromap a credit card-sized map and magnifier after watching skiers fumbling around with sodden piste maps.

The idea has now found its way into the hands of bomb disposal experts and 300,000 owners worldwide.

He was awarded the OBE for services to innovation and business at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday morning.

Pulling up to the palace in a borrowed Aston Martin, Mr Woolf and his family enjoyed the red carpet treatment before Mr Woolf's audience with Her Majesty the Queen.

"It all seemed very important," said Mr Woolf, 41. "Suddenly, I became quite emotional, and I got a lump in my throat. My mother died a few years ago and I just wish she could have been there.

"The Queen stuck this thing on my chest and she said: 'You are a very clever man'. She seemed very interested in Micromap.

"It has been an incredible experience. I feel incredibly honoured to have been there. I have always had a fairly lateral way of looking at stuff. I look at things and a thought occurs to me that doesn't occur to many other people."

With plans for a innovative anti-car theft device and a hi-tech home security set-up in the pipeline, this inventor's stream of ideas shows no signs of slowing down.