Photo: Contributed

A lawsuit alleges that an annual cheese-rolling competition in Whistler went from fun to frightening when a runaway wheel of cheddar crashed into a three-year-old girl.

It says Juli Nonaka was watching the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival on Blackcomb Mountain in August when the five-kilogram wheel came flying down the hill and stretched a safety net, colliding with her.

Toshihiro Nonaka filed the notice of civil claim in British Columbia Supreme Court alleging his daughter was knocked down and her leg was broken.

The defendants are named as: Vail Resorts, the U.S. owner of Whistler Blackcomb; Dairy Farmers of Canada, the hosts of the festival and Smak Media and Promotions, the event promoters.

Dairy Farmers of Canada and Smak declined comment, while Vail Resorts says it didn't own Whistler Blackcomb in August and shouldn't be named in the suit.

The allegations have not been proven in court, but the lawsuit claims the defendants were negligent and failed to take reasonable steps to block off or alter the netting that gave way and caused the cheese to hit the little girl.