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A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in association with the enormous mound of garbage dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a prior investigation which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environment authorities said that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime offences and were a "crucial step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

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

This heap of waste is consists of what looks to be processed household refuse, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, tires and other household articles.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful tips in the country, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of waste. They encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total number of such major locations is likely to be higher, as the environment body has previously stated it does not maintain records on weight for each illegal tip.

Most these sites are in rural locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement state numerous are managed by organised crime gangs, who are making money by demanding far less than lawful firms to receive and bury waste.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the quantity and nature of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparation operations to clear the Kidlington area dump started in recent weeks following worries over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been granted the contract to deal with the area over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national regulatory unit commented that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up funds under confiscation laws from anyone ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its current case.

She further stated that these arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This illegal site at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate affront on our ecology and the authorities understand the local anger at this horrific crime," she said.

A government minister supported the actions, adding: "The illegal deposit of waste at the site is appalling and has caused significant harm to the ecology and upset to the surrounding community.

"The authorities is pledged to eradicating this kind of criminality across the UK, by augmenting funds to combat environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and introducing tougher measures and sanctions for those who flout the law."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by personnel from a dedicated serious crime unit and follow an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was released subject to more investigations.