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Two men have been arrested as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the presence of over 500 unauthorized tips in England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental agency commented that the arrests were for environment-related and financial crimes and represented a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to contain around 21,000 tonnes of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of waste is consists of what appears to be treated residential refuse, shredded plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various everyday items.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized sites across England, at least 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall amount of such major sites is expected to be larger, as the environmental body has in the past acknowledged it does not maintain information on volume for each illegal dump.

Most such locations are in agricultural settings, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organized Operations

Police state numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are earning cash by charging much less than lawful firms to receive and landfill waste.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the volume and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington dump began in recent weeks following fears over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private clean-up contractor has been given the contract to deal with the area over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's regulatory unit commented that the body would be seeking to claim back the clearance costs under asset recovery legislation from any party successfully found guilty at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She added that these arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and permit officials to "pursue more avenues to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an atrocious and deliberate assault on our environment and we share the public's outrage at this terrible crime," she said.

A cabinet official praised the detentions, commenting: "The unlawful deposit of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in significant harm to the environment and anguish to the nearby population.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity in the country, by increasing funds to address illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and introducing tougher controls and penalties for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime unit and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was let go subject to additional investigations.