Funny Gloucestershire cheese-rolling clips

The bananas race, dubbed “the world’s stupidest competition”, is a local tradition that dates back to the early 1800s and takes place every year.

Crowds gather to come and watch contestants run, slide, flip, roll and chase after a 7lb (3kg) circular slab of Double Gloucester of cheese, as it speeds down a 200 yard slope at up to 70-miles an hour.

Smart has been suppyling the cheese for the event for 25 years. Due to health and safety regulations, the police warned that as an organiser she could be liable if anybody was injured at the event. "It made me feel pretty angry... there's not a lot we can do," said Smart.

The cheese-rolling event will be "unofficial" unless organisers can raise £250,000 ahead of the competition.

The event’s popularity has increased in recent years. Former cheese rolling organiser Rob Seex explained the problem: "There's room for about 2,000 [people] on the hill and the police told us there were about 14,000 there [last year].”

There may be scrapes, bruises and breaks galore at the annual event, but surely there’s nothing funnier than people falling down a hill while chasing a big block of round cheese?

The 'world’s stupidest competition' has been picked up across the world. Canada held its first cheese rolling competition in 2009. This year's Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival takes place on August 17 at Whistler Blackcomb.

Enjoy some of the greatest clips in recent cheese rolling history...

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