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Two individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the huge pile of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a previous investigation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized sites across England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the regulatory agency stated that the arrests were for environmental and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is composed of what appears to be processed household refuse, chopped up plastic materials, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted household items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. They feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The overall number of such larger locations is likely to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously acknowledged it does not possess records on weight for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside areas, typically concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities say numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by asking for significantly less than legitimate firms to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful disposal sites, contingent on the amount and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Initial operations to clear the affected location began recently due to fears over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been awarded the task to deal with the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's environment division said that the agency would be aiming to recoup the clean-up funds under asset recovery legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the end of its active case.

She further stated that these detentions would help "drive the probe forward" and allow officials to "pursue more leads to understand in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate assault on our ecology and the authorities understand the community's frustration at this horrific act," she said.

A cabinet official praised the arrests, commenting: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at the site is utterly appalling and has led to significant damage to the ecology and distress to the local residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality in the country, by augmenting financing to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and introducing tougher measures and penalties for those who break the rules."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated crime unit and come after an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was released awaiting additional inquiries.