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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the huge mound of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a previous investigation which exposed the existence of over 500 unauthorized sites across the country of England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental body commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of garbage is made up of what looks to be treated residential rubbish, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other household articles.

It constitutes just one of 517 unlawful sites throughout England, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger dumps is probably to be greater, as the environment agency has in the past stated it does not maintain information on weight for every unauthorized dump.

Most such locations are in agricultural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that should be agricultural ground.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities say numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by asking for far less than lawful firms to take and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, based on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington location commenced earlier this month following fears over the potential of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial waste clearance company has been awarded the job to remediate the location over the next 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the country's environment team said that the body would be seeking to claim back the clean-up expenses under asset recovery acts from any party ultimately found guilty at the termination of its ongoing case.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and allow authorities to "follow more leads to determine in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"This unlawful site at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated assault on our environment and officials share the community's frustration at this terrible act," she stated.

A senior representative praised the arrests, stating: "The unlawful dumping of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused substantial damage to the environment and distress to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is committed to eradicating this type of criminality in the UK, by increasing resources to tackle environmental crime, employing more staff and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The apprehensions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a specialist organised crime team and follow an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go subject to more enquiries.