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Two men have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous revelation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unauthorized sites in England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment agency commented that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and were a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is made up of what seems to be processed residential waste, shredded plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and various domestic objects.

It is just one of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such larger dumps is expected to be greater, as the environmental agency has earlier stated it does not possess records on weight for all illegal site.

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

Criminal Operations

Authorities say many are operated by organized crime groups, who are making cash by asking for much less than legitimate firms to accept and landfill waste.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use lawful disposal sites, depending 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 metric ton.

Local Frustration

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington dump commenced recently due to concerns over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been granted the job to remediate the area over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the government regulatory division said that the body would be looking to recover the clean-up funds under proceeds of crime laws from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and permit authorities to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized dump at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional affront on our natural surroundings and we understand the community's frustration at this egregious crime," she stated.

A senior minister praised the actions, commenting: "The illegal tipping of rubbish at this location is appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity across the UK, by increasing financing to address illegal dumping, hiring more staff and implementing stricter checks and penalties for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by agents from a dedicated crime unit and follow an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go subject to additional inquiries.