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Two men have been detained as part of an probe into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the massive mound of waste tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a recent investigation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites in England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental body stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and represented a "vital step" in active investigations. Both men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of garbage is composed of what appears to be sorted household rubbish, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tyres and other household items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal tips throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne site in 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 major locations is likely to be greater, as the environment agency has earlier acknowledged it does not hold data on weight for every unauthorized dump.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural areas, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Organised Operations

Authorities say numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by charging far less than licensed operators to take and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the volume and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Public Frustration

Preparatory work to remove the Kidlington location began in recent weeks amid concerns over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private waste removal firm has been granted the job to handle the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the government environmental crime unit said that the agency would be looking to recover the clean-up costs under proceeds of crime acts from any party ultimately prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that these detentions would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful tip at the site was an appalling and intentional affront on our environment and we share the community's outrage at this horrific act," she remarked.

A government official supported the arrests, adding: "The unlawful dumping of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused considerable damage to the ecology and upset to the nearby residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality in the UK, by augmenting financing to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and enacting more severe measures and fines for those who violate the law."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime team and come after an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in the autumn. He was released awaiting additional investigations.