clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk Sam Houghton, of Buxton, Derbyshire, was just three when he came up with a double-headed broom to collect large debris and fine dust simultaneously.
After passing the rigorous patenting process, his invention is now protected from anyone who might copy it.
He said: "It was such a simple solution that only a child could have come up with it.
"I was swapping from one broom to the other and he asked why. When I said it was to pick up the different leaves and twigs it must have got him thinking.
"He got a large elastic band from the shed and put it over the two brooms, holding them just the right way to use both together. He then called me and announced that had had made up an invention."