The Queen has awarded a Royal Warrant to the Sussex man who sweeps her palace chimneys.

Kevin Giddings has gained the privilege after keeping Her Majesty's palaces soot-free for the past six years.

Kevin and four of the 11 sweeps he employs at his Sussex business have special approval to clean the chimneys at Buckingham Palace, Hampton Court Palace, St James's Palace, Kensington Palace and Clarence House.

Gaining the warrant means he can use the royal crest on his van and office stationary.

Kevin and his team have security clearance to enter the royal homes whenever they are needed.

They are called on about 15 times a year and some chimneys take three or four visits to be cleaned thoroughly.

Because he is paid out of the Privy Purse - the money given by Parliament to the monarch for private expenses - the Queen had to grant the warrant herself.

Whoever is in charge of the royal household at the time of cleaning has to see the brush appear from the top of the chimney to ensure the job is being done properly.

Father-of-two Kevin, 40, is the boss of Milborrow Chimney Sweeps, based in Crawley Down.

He said: "It is a great honour to be awarded the warrant and I'm thrilled. My wife Katie and I are going to have lunch with the Queen at the Royal Warrant Holders' Association's (RWHA) annual luncheon in March and we can't wait to see her.

"I've even bought a special tie for the event."

Of his work, Kevin said: "The chimneys in the palaces are old and tall and need a lot of attention.

"We do the job as cleanly as possible as there are so many precious things we don't want to damage.

"The hardest is the inglenook fire in the great kitchen at Hampton Court Palace, where Henry VIII's chefs used to cook for his banquets.

"It is about 20ft wide and I have to climb inside to clean it. It has to be done at least twice a year and can only be done at night as it is lit for tourists during the day. My nine-year-old boy, Ben, loves coming with me to see it.

"But I have had to promise him I won't make him climb the chimney to clean it as the Victorians did to some children."

Pippa Dutton, assistant secretary of the RWHA, said: "It is an honour for anyone to be awarded a warrant.

"A person must have traded for a minimum of five consecutive years direct with the royal household.

"It means that person is entitled to wear the royal coat of arms on their stationary, premises, advertising and vehicles.

"It is a recognition which people admire and is very good for business."

Kevin set his sights on a career in chimneys after watching the filmMary Poppins, which stars Dick van Dyke as a Cockney sweep.

He is invited, with his cat Milborrow, to about 100 weddings a year with his cat as the lucky chimney sweep, a tradition dating from Georgian times.

He will hold the warrant for five years before having to reapply.