From lawnmower racing in Sussex to potwalloping in Devon, the more unusual the goings-on, the better.

One of the wackiest of them all brought Stilton to a standstill yesterday, as thousands of revellers poured in to soak up the atmosphere of the village's legendary cheese-rolling contest.

There may have been big cheeses like Warwick Davis and Robbie Coltrane in town, but there was only one most people had their sights on – the famous Stilton-shaped wooden cylinder.

Made out of a telegraph pole, the "cheese" is trundled along the High Street by teams of bizarrely-dressed competitors who brave tussles and tumbles to cross the finish line first.

This year, participants donning traffic cones, scarecrow outfits and electric pink bubble perms made up one of the most eccentric line-ups the race had ever seen.

Not even drizzle could dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd, which stretched from the starting point at the Bell Inn and as far as the eye could see down the street.

Local celebrity Mr Davis, who has starred in films such as Harry Potter and Star Wars, kickstarted the action with a rousing speech.

Speaking beforehand, he said the magic of the festival lay in its novelty value.

"This is the fourth year I've opened the festival. You don't see this every day and can't see it anywhere else," he said.

"The British love their quirky customs.

"Everyone is very keen to win.

"A team from Poland is back again this year to try to get back their championship crown, which they lost last time."

He revealed that his next project was shooting Prince Caspian, part of the Narnia Chronicles, in Prague.

Robbie Coltrane, who plays the Giant Hagrid in Harry Potter, rolled up to the village with a TV crew in tow to record the tradition for a forthcoming documentary on odd customs.

Chairwoman of the cheese rolling committee Olive Main (70) said: "I've been organising this for 20 years. There must have been about two or three thousand people here, in spite of the weather.

"It's for families and there is a lovely atmosphere. It ends with a concert at night. A lot of entertainment is provided by people from the village."

Pat Maltman (57) said: "The whole village gets together and everybody does something. It's about the sillyness.

"Many of the people taking part are from Stilton so they have a lot of friends and family support.

"One year, there was a dislocated shoulder. People really want to win. When the wooden cheese hits your ankles, you can definitely feel it."

Sylvia Burgess (68) said: "I've been in Stilton for 30 years and it's an annual fixture.