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Two men have been arrested as part of an probe into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in connection with the huge mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests come after a previous investigation which exposed the presence of more than 500 unlawful tips across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental agency said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial offences and constituted a "key step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to hold approximately 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what seems to be sorted domestic waste, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other everyday items.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal sites throughout England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tonnes of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such major sites is probably to be larger, as the environment authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold records on weight for each unlawful site.

Most these sites are in countryside areas, typically out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organised Activity

Authorities report numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are making money by demanding far less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clean up the Kidlington area dump started earlier this month amid concerns over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the close-by highway.

A private waste clearance company has been given the contract to deal with the area over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's environment unit said that the body would be looking to recover the remediation expenses under confiscation acts from anyone convicted at the end of its active investigation.

She added that these arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more leads to ascertain in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at the site was an atrocious and calculated affront on our ecology and officials understand the public's outrage at this horrific offence," she stated.

A cabinet minister praised the actions, commenting: "This unlawful deposit of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the environment and upset to the local population.

"The government is committed to eradicating this category of illegal activity in the nation, by augmenting financing to tackle illegal dumping, employing more personnel and implementing more severe measures and fines for those who violate the law."

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