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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the massive mound of waste deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous report which uncovered the existence of more than 500 unlawful sites in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency said that the arrests were for environmental and proceeds of crime offences and were a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is made up of what looks to be treated household waste, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted domestic objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful tips across England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. These encompass 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 actual number of such larger dumps is expected to be higher, as the environmental body has in the past acknowledged it does not possess records on volume for every illegal dump.

Most these sites are in countryside settings, typically out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organised Operations

Police say numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are making money by charging much less than licensed firms to accept and bury rubbish.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, based on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington site started earlier this month due to fears over the risk of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private waste clearance contractor has been awarded the task to remediate the area over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national regulatory division said that the body would be looking to recoup the clean-up expenses under confiscation acts from any party ultimately prosecuted at the end of its active investigation.

She noted that these arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more leads to understand exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"This illegal tip at this location was an appalling and deliberate attack on our ecology and officials understand the local anger at this egregious offence," she said.

A cabinet minister supported the detentions, commenting: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in significant damage to the environment and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our government is dedicated to stamping out this kind of illegal activity across the nation, by boosting funds to address waste crime, employing more officers and implementing tougher controls and fines for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime unit and come after an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in November. He was set free pending further enquiries.