Kenny Rackers from the US celebrates winning the first race down Cooper’s Hill (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Thousands of people have attended the annual cheese-rolling contest in Gloucestershire.

The series of races, which take place on Cooper’s Hill, were in danger of being cancelled this year after police warned against holding them.

Health and safety concerns had been raid about the races (Picture: AFP/Getty)

But organisers decided to defy the orders, much to the ire of the authorities.

‘We feel it is important that those who, by law, could be constituted as organisers of the event, that they are aware of the responsibilities that come with it so that they can make an informed decision about their participation,’ a Gloucestershire police spokesperson had said.


A competitor tumbles down Cooper’s Hill in pursuit of a fake foam round Double Gloucester cheese (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Once the unofficial event kicked off, the estimated 3,000 spectators were treated to a spectacle that saw participants risk serious injury by chasing a piece of fake Gloucester cheese down a hill.



The organisers had tried to make this year’s festivities safer by using a foam copy of the dairy product.

Police had warned of the dangers of taking part in the annual event (Picture: Getty)

American Kenny Rackers, who travelled more than 4,000 miles from Colorado Springs, won the main competition on Sunday.

The 27-year-old estate agent, who wore a US stars and stripes morph suit, said afterwards: ‘I came over specially for this and I did what I had to do to win.

‘It feels great, I trained a long time for this and got hurt on the hill practising. I came three days early and I took a bad spill, but I came to win and that’s what I did.

Thousands of people turned up to watch the event (Picture: Getty)

‘I came 3,000 or 4,000 miles just for this race. I put it on my bucket list and today it was to win and that’s what I did.’

The unofficial cheese rolling events date back to the early 1800s and normally takes place on the bank holiday in late spring.

The annual cheese-rolling event at Copper’s Hill remains as popular as ever (Picture: PA)