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A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in connection with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a previous report which revealed the operation of more than 500 unlawful dumps in England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environment authorities commented that the arrests were for ecological and financial offences and represented a "key step" in active probes. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to house around 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of waste is made up of what looks to be processed residential waste, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted household articles.

It constitutes just one of 517 unauthorized sites throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such larger dumps is expected to be higher, as the environmental agency has previously stated it does not possess records on volume for all unlawful tip.

Most these sites are in agricultural locations, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement say numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making money by charging far less than legitimate firms to take and landfill waste.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the amount and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Initial work to clear the Kidlington site commenced earlier this month amid fears over the potential of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste removal contractor has been granted the task to handle the site over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime unit commented that the authority would be seeking to recoup the clearance costs under proceeds of crime laws from any party successfully prosecuted at the termination of its current inquiry.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more avenues to ascertain precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at this location was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our natural surroundings and officials empathize with the community's frustration at this egregious act," she stated.

A cabinet minister supported the arrests, stating: "This illegal dumping of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused significant harm to the ecology and anguish to the nearby population.

"Our administration is pledged to stamping out this category of crime in the nation, by increasing funds to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and implementing tougher measures and penalties for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by officers from a specialist crime squad and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was let go pending more investigations.