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Two individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in relation with the huge pile of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a prior investigation which revealed the presence of over 500 unlawful tips throughout the country of England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environment authorities commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "key step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what appears to be sorted residential waste, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, tires and assorted household objects.

It represents just a single of 517 illegal sites throughout England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such major sites is likely to be greater, as the environmental body has earlier stated it does not maintain data on tonnage for every unauthorized dump.

The majority these sites are in rural areas, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable property.

Criminal Operations

Police state numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by asking for much less than legitimate firms to receive and landfill waste.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the volume and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Outrage

Preparatory work to remove the Kidlington site started recently due to worries over the potential of combustion and the effect that would have on the nearby highway.

A private waste removal company has been awarded the contract to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the government environmental crime division commented that the body would be looking to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual successfully prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more leads to ascertain precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an appalling and intentional attack on our ecology and we empathize with the local anger at this horrific offence," she stated.

A senior official supported the detentions, adding: "This illegal dumping of waste at this location is disgraceful and has led to substantial damage to the natural world and upset to the local community.

"Our authorities is dedicated to eliminating this type of illegal activity in the UK, by boosting resources to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and enacting stricter checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on the specified day by officers from a dedicated organised crime unit and follow an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting more enquiries.