Video: Jubilee cheese rolling event held

Published on 04/06/2012 18:07

A special “Jubilee cheese” was the top prize today as rebel cheese rollers took part in a bizarre local competition to chase an 8lb piece of the dairy product down a steep hill.

Thrillseekers staged their own unofficial event after the world-famous Cheese Rolling was officially cancelled in 2010.

Competitors took part in four races down the 1:2 gradient slope - three men’s races and a women’s - with the final men’s race held with a “Jubilee cheese”.

The bizarre annual event attracted participants, spectators and media from across the world to Cooper’s Hill, at Brockworth, near Gloucester.

Several hundred spectators watched as the daredevil athletes pursued the Double Gloucester cheese down 200 metres of slippery, wet grass, brambles and nettles.

They slipped, somersaulted and tumbled their way to the bottom of the hill in spectacular fashion and the first person to grab the cheese won.

Craig Fairley, 26, from Brockworth, won the Jubilee race while local champion cheese roller Chris Anderson, 24, won the two other adult male races.

Lucy Townsend came out on top in the women’s race.