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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an probe into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive pile of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a previous report which uncovered the presence of over 500 unlawful sites across the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial offences and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34, is thought to house around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is composed of what appears to be treated domestic rubbish, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, automobile tires and other household articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized tips throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger sites is likely to be greater, as the regulatory body has in the past stated it does not possess records on tonnage for all unlawful tip.

A large proportion of sites are in agricultural areas, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organized Operations

Authorities say many are managed by criminal organizations, who are making cash by asking for much less than lawful firms to accept and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the amount and type of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Preparation operations to clear the Kidlington site began recently due to worries over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted waste clearance contractor has been given the contract to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime unit stated that the body would be seeking to recover the clearance costs under proceeds of crime laws from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that the recent detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at this location was an shocking and deliberate affront on our environment and the authorities empathize with the community's anger at this terrible offence," she said.

A cabinet official praised the actions, adding: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable harm to the environment and distress to the nearby population.

"The authorities is dedicated to eradicating this kind of illegal activity across the UK, by boosting funds to address environmental crime, employing more personnel and enacting tougher measures and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in November. He was set free subject to more investigations.