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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the massive heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior report which revealed the presence of over 500 unlawful sites across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the regulatory authorities said that the arrests were for environment-related and financial violations and were a "crucial step" in continuing probes. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to hold about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of waste is consists of what seems to be sorted household rubbish, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted domestic articles.

It is just a single of 517 illegal tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such larger dumps is likely to be larger, as the environment agency has earlier indicated it does not maintain data on volume for every unlawful site.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural settings, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organized Enterprise

Police state many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by charging far less than legitimate firms to accept and bury rubbish.

Companies have to pay site fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Preparation operations to clean up the affected site started in recent weeks following concerns over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A private waste clearance contractor has been given the job to deal with the site over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime division stated that the body would be seeking to claim back the clean-up funds under confiscation acts from anyone convicted at the termination of its current inquiry.

She further stated that this week's detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what occurred and who was involved".

"The unauthorized site at this location was an shocking and deliberate assault on our ecology and we share the public's anger at this terrible crime," she remarked.

A government representative welcomed the arrests, stating: "The illegal deposit of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has led to considerable damage to the ecology and anguish to the local population.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this category of crime across the UK, by augmenting financing to tackle environmental crime, employing more staff and enacting more severe checks and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was set free subject to further investigations.