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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in connection with the huge heap of waste tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a recent investigation which revealed the operation of more than 500 unauthorized tips throughout the country of England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities stated that the arrests were for environmental and financial crimes and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to house around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is made up of what looks to be processed domestic refuse, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted everyday articles.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal tips in England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall number of such major dumps is likely to be higher, as the environment authority has earlier indicated it does not hold information on weight for all unlawful dump.

A large proportion of sites are in agricultural settings, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Organized Enterprise

Police state many are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by demanding far less than legitimate firms to take and bury rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed waste facilities, depending on the quantity and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation operations to remove the Kidlington area site began recently due to worries over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted waste clearance company has been given the job to remediate the location over the coming 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the government environmental crime unit stated that the body would be aiming to recover the remediation expenses under confiscation acts from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more avenues to ascertain precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and we understand the public's frustration at this terrible act," she said.

A senior official welcomed the actions, adding: "The illegal dumping of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has led to significant damage to the ecology and upset to the local residents.

"The government is committed to eliminating this kind of crime in the UK, by boosting resources to address waste crime, recruiting more personnel and implementing stricter controls and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime team and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was released pending further enquiries.