Byline: By REBECCA EVANS
FEARLESS funlovers stuck up two fingers to the health and safety brigade yesterday to enjoy a uniquely British tradition - the annual cheese rolling hill chase.
Daredevil competitors - gleefully risking fingers, life and limb - were watched by 3,000 spectators as they threw themselves down the perilously steep slope after a 7lb cheese.
The race in Brockworth, Glos, has become such a symbol of English eccentricity that it attracts worldwide interest.
Organiser Richard Jeffries vowed: 'There are people who'd like to see it stop, but it's an ancient British tradition that's gone on for centuries and will continue.' Jason Crowther, 25, of Pembrokeshire, West Wales, won the first of the day's five races - his third victory in three years.
Clutching his Double Gloucester prize, he grinned: 'I heard something crack, which I think was my knee. But you just go for it.'
Women's event winner Jemima Bullock, 33, who flew in from Wellington, New Zealand, said: 'It's well known back home and always on the news.'
The psychologist, who suffered bloodied knees, shrugged: 'I guess you have got to be a bit mad to do this.' Japanese TV star Daisuki Miyazaw, 34, came second in one contest and groaned: 'We are strong, but it hurts so much.' He was one of 20 treated for minor injuries. The race at Cooper's Hill dates from Roman times.
Other quirky spectacles to have escaped Britain's health and safety brigade are the flaming tar barrel event in Ottery St Mary, Devon, where people race through streets with burning casks, while Marshwood in Dorset, hosts a nettle-eating contest.
rebecca.evans@mirror.co.uk
CAPTION(S):
HILL JOY: Jemima slides to victory; CHEESE KNEES: Triumphant Jemima shows her bloodied legs; IN A PICKLE: Ambulance workers tend to injured competitor; WINNER: Jason
