TOP gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been in Huddersfield - to track down his famous ancestors.

And the larger than life TV star was delighted to discover one of his ancestors has a great claim to fame.

He found out his great- grandfather was Caleb Kilner, who hit on the idea of the screw-topped, rubber-sealed jar as a way of preserving food.

Caleb, of Dewsbury, had trademarked the invention back in the 1890s.

The research was for tonight's TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?, which goes out on BBC2 at 9pm.

Jeremy's search through the West Yorkshire Archaeological Society archives, with the help of staff at the Huddersfield office, helped him track down the current owner of the jar's patent. It sparked an interest in family history that Jeremy never knew he had.

He was shown documents relating to the court case of Henry Savile v George and William Kilner, who were proprietors of Providence Glassworks in Thornhill Lees. Henry Savile intended an area of his land adjacent to the factory to be used for the "building of superior houses."

At the heart of the case was a complaint from Savile that black smoke from the Kilner's factory was a nuisance.

Martin Wood is Chief Officer for West Yorkshire Joint Services, which oversees the work of the Archive Service.

He said of Jeremy's visit: "We were able to show him documents dating from 1865 including newspaper cuttings on the court case and the decision which meant that the Kilners were given three months in which to alleviate the pollution problem."