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Two individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in association with the huge mound of waste tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests follow a prior investigation which revealed the existence of more than 500 unlawful dumps in the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental body commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "key step" in active inquiries. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to house about 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of waste is consists of what seems to be sorted domestic refuse, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted everyday items.

It represents just a single of 517 illegal sites throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites 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 dump in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such bigger locations is probably to be larger, as the environment authority has earlier acknowledged it does not hold information on weight for every illegal site.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside locations, typically out of sight, and on land that should be farm property.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities state a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by asking for much less than lawful companies to receive and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, based on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clear the affected site commenced earlier this month due to concerns over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been awarded the contract to remediate the area over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the government environment division stated that the authority would be aiming to recoup the remediation costs under proceeds of crime acts from any party ultimately convicted at the end of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that these apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to determine in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized site at this location was an atrocious and intentional attack on our environment and we understand the public's outrage at this egregious crime," she said.

A government representative welcomed the detentions, commenting: "The unauthorized tipping of garbage at this location is appalling and has led to considerable damage to the natural world and upset to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eliminating this kind of crime across the nation, by boosting financing to address environmental crime, employing more personnel and enacting tougher controls and penalties for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by officers from a specialist serious crime unit and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in last November. He was set free pending further investigations.