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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge heap of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a recent revelation which uncovered the existence of over 500 unlawful dumps in England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities said that the detentions were for environmental and financial violations and represented a "key step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is thought to house about 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of garbage is composed of what seems to be processed household waste, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, tyres and assorted household items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful tips throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. They encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The total number of such larger locations is probably to be larger, as the regulatory agency has earlier indicated it does not maintain data on tonnage for every unauthorized site.

The majority sites are in agricultural areas, often out of sight, and on land that should be arable ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Police report numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by demanding significantly less than legitimate companies to accept and bury garbage.

Firms have to pay site fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the volume and type of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Preparation efforts to remove the affected dump commenced earlier this month amid concerns over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A commercial clean-up company has been awarded the job to deal with the location over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's environmental crime division commented that the authority would be seeking to recover the remediation funds under asset recovery legislation from any individual successfully convicted at the conclusion of its active investigation.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "follow more leads to understand precisely what happened and who was involved".

"This unauthorized dump at this location was an atrocious and intentional attack on our environment and we empathize with the public's anger at this egregious offence," she said.

A cabinet official welcomed the actions, adding: "The illegal deposit of waste at the site is appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding community.

"The administration is dedicated to eliminating this category of crime across the nation, by boosting resources to address illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and enacting stricter measures and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on the specified day by officers from a dedicated crime team and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting more enquiries.