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A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the huge pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a recent revelation which exposed the presence of over 500 illegal dumps in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory body said that the detentions were for environmental and financial crimes and were a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is thought to house about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is made up of what seems to be treated domestic refuse, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted domestic articles.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such bigger locations is expected to be larger, as the regulatory body has previously indicated it does not hold information on tonnage for every illegal dump.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural settings, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organised Activity

Police report a significant number are run by organized crime groups, who are earning cash by charging significantly less than licensed firms to accept and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Preparation operations to clean up the affected site commenced in recent weeks due to concerns over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been granted the job to handle the location over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the national environmental crime unit stated that the authority would be seeking to recoup the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from any party prosecuted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She added that this week's arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow officials to "follow more avenues to ascertain in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The illegal site at the site was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our environment and the authorities understand the local outrage at this terrible crime," she said.

A senior minister welcomed the arrests, commenting: "The unlawful deposit of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to significant damage to the ecology and upset to the nearby residents.

"Our government is dedicated to eliminating this type of illegal activity in the nation, by boosting financing to address illegal dumping, hiring more officers and enacting stricter controls and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional serious crime squad and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in last November. He was let go pending additional enquiries.