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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an probe into the tipping of many thousands of tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the enormous heap of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests come after a recent revelation which uncovered the presence of over 500 unlawful tips throughout England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environment body commented that the arrests were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "key step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is thought to house about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what looks to be sorted domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other domestic articles.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal dumps across England, at least 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such major dumps is probably to be greater, as the environmental authority has in the past stated it does not maintain data on volume for each unauthorized dump.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural settings, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Organized Operations

Authorities state a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are generating money by demanding much less than licensed firms to receive and landfill garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Initial efforts to clean up the Kidlington area location started in recent weeks due to concerns over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A contracted clean-up firm has been awarded the contract to deal with the site over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the government environmental crime team commented that the body would be seeking to recover the remediation funds under confiscation legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the end of its ongoing case.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate assault on our environment and we empathize with the public's anger at this horrific crime," she stated.

A cabinet official welcomed the arrests, stating: "The illegal tipping of rubbish at the site is disgraceful and has caused considerable harm to the natural world and upset to the local residents.

"The administration is committed to eliminating this type of criminality across the nation, by augmenting financing to tackle waste crime, employing more officers and introducing stricter measures and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime team and follow an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was let go pending additional enquiries.