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A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge mound of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior report which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips across the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial violations and constituted a "key step" in active probes. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is composed of what seems to be sorted household rubbish, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and other everyday objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total number of such bigger sites is expected to be larger, as the environmental body has in the past acknowledged it does not maintain information on tonnage for every unlawful site.

A large proportion of sites are in agricultural settings, often concealed, and on land that should be agricultural land.

Organised Operations

Authorities say a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by asking for significantly less than licensed companies to accept and bury garbage.

Firms have to incur site fees to use lawful waste facilities, contingent on the amount and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington site started earlier this month following fears over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the location over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environment team said that the authority would be looking to recoup the clean-up expenses under asset recovery laws from anyone successfully prosecuted at the termination of its active case.

She noted that these arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more avenues to understand exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at this location was an shocking and intentional affront on our environment and officials understand the community's frustration at this terrible crime," she remarked.

A government official praised the detentions, commenting: "This unauthorized deposit of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"The government is dedicated to eradicating this type of criminality in the country, by increasing resources to tackle environmental crime, hiring more personnel and implementing tougher measures and sanctions for those who flout the law."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by officers from a regional organised crime unit and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was let go awaiting further enquiries.