Whey to go: British cheese rollers defy weather

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

GLOUCESTER, England (AFP) — Fearless thrill-seekers on Monday flipped, slipped, somersaulted and tumbled down a suicidally steep slope in western England to try to catch a giant runaway circle of cheese.

The cheese rolling event at Coopers Hill is one of Britain's more unusual annual events and is not for the faint-hearted but it was made even more perilous this year by torrential rain that turned the course into a mudbath.

Organisers claimed the downpours that lashed much of southern Britain over the weekend made the vertiginous slope softer underfoot but more than 30 first aid volunteers were kept busy as 19 people limped in with injuries.

A 19-year-old man, Christopher Anderson, won the first race but was carried from the hill on a spinal board after...