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Two men have been detained as a component of an probe into the dumping of many thousands of tons of rubbish in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a previous report which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps throughout the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "key step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what seems to be treated residential waste, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various everyday articles.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized tips in England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 metric tons of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total number of such major dumps is expected to be larger, as the environmental authority has earlier indicated it does not hold information on volume for all illegal dump.

Most sites are in rural locations, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as arable ground.

Criminal Activity

Authorities report a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by asking for much less than legitimate operators to accept and bury garbage.

Companies have to pay site fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the volume and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Frustration

Preparatory work to remove the affected site began recently amid concerns over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial waste removal company has been granted the contract to remediate the site over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's regulatory unit commented that the authority would be aiming to recover the remediation funds under proceeds of crime acts from anyone successfully convicted at the termination of its current case.

She added that the recent apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and permit authorities to "pursue more avenues to determine in detail what happened and who was involved".

"The unlawful dump at the site was an appalling and intentional affront on our environment and the authorities share the public's anger at this terrible act," she remarked.

A senior official welcomed the arrests, adding: "The illegal deposit of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused considerable damage to the ecology and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our administration is dedicated to eliminating this category of criminality in the country, by boosting financing to address environmental crime, employing more officers and enacting stricter controls and sanctions for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a dedicated crime squad and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was set free pending further enquiries.