Cheese rolling: Dairy-loving daredevils descend on Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire for annual race
Dairy-loving daredevils from around the world have descended on Cooper’s Hill in Gloucestershire for the annual cheese-rolling race.
Competitors ran, slid and tumbled down the near-vertical incline in an effort to catch up with a 7lb wheel of Double Gloucester – a semi-hard cheese renowned for its strong and savoury flavour.
The rough-and-ready race is notoriously dangerous with bumps and bruises almost guaranteed for the many reckless cheese-chasers who tend to fall down the hill rather than run.
The emergency services did not attend this year’s event but said they would respond to callouts.
Few competitors manage to stay on their feet all the way down the 200-yard (180-metre) hill in Brockworth in the southwest of England.
The race begins when the so-called “Master of Cheese” rolls a Double Gloucester down the hill.
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
The competitors then follow, with the first one to make it to the bottom getting to keep the cheese.
This year’s hill was especially slippery and muddy after recent rain. Members of a local rugby club lined up at the bottom to catch the tumbling competitors.
Three men’s downhill races and one women’s downhill race took place between midday and 1:30pm.
Winners of the three men’s races included local man Josh Shepherd as well as competitors from Germany and Australia.
American YouTuber IShowSpeed was among those who took part in one of the men’s races – and paid a visit to the medical tent after suffering bruising on his way down the hill.
Pic: PA
US YouTuber iShowSpeed, left and wearing a white T-shirt, took a tumble as he chased the cheese. Pic: PA
Abby Lampe from North Carolina in the US won the women’s race by rolling down the hill at speed that left the rest of the field far behind.
“You just have to roll,” said Ms Lampe, a graduate of North Carolina State University, who also won in 2022.
She added: “There’s a little bit of pain, but it’s just going to be temporary.”
Dozens of children and adults also competed in safer and slower, but no less gruelling, uphill versions of the race, which are traditionally held on a late-May national holiday.
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Abby Lampe got muddy during her winning race. Pic: PA
The annual cheese-rolling event in Gloucestershire is believed to have been taking place for centuries, though its exact origin is unknown.
The first written evidence of the event was found in a message that was sent to the Gloucester Town Crier in 1826.
However, it is said to have been an old tradition even back then.
Some believe it started as a way of claiming grazing rights on the ground around Cooper’s Hill – while others think it could have been a fertility ritual.
Around 20 miles away from Cooper’s Hill on Monday, competitors in the town of Tetbury carried sacks of wool weighing up to 60 pounds (27kg) over a 240-yard (220-metre) course up and down steep Gumstool Hill.
The Tetbury Woolsack Races have been held since 1972, drawing on a local tradition dating back to the 17th century in the historic wool-trading town.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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