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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the massive mound of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous report which uncovered the presence of over 500 unauthorized dumps across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental agency said that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime offences and were a "vital step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been let go on bail.

Size of the Issue

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

This heap of garbage is made up of what appears to be processed household rubbish, shredded plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such major dumps is probably to be higher, as the environmental agency has in the past acknowledged it does not maintain data on weight for every unlawful site.

Most these sites are in agricultural locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Criminal Activity

Authorities say a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by asking for far less than lawful operators to receive and bury garbage.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the volume and nature of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Preparatory work to remove the affected location started earlier this month amid fears over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted waste clearance company has been granted the task to handle the site over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the national regulatory unit said that the authority would be aiming to claim back the remediation funds under confiscation laws from any party convicted at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She added that these arrests would help "move the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "follow more leads to ascertain in detail what happened and who was involved".

"The unlawful site at this location was an shocking and calculated affront on our ecology and we empathize with the public's anger at this terrible crime," she said.

A cabinet minister praised the arrests, adding: "This illegal deposit of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial damage to the ecology and distress to the nearby population.

"Our government is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality throughout the nation, by increasing funds to combat environmental crime, employing more staff and introducing tougher measures and penalties for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime unit and are in addition to an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was released awaiting further investigations.