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Two men have been arrested as a component of an probe into the dumping of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the massive pile of garbage deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a prior report which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps across the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory body commented that the arrests were for environmental and financial offences and were a "crucial step" in active inquiries. Both men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is composed of what looks to be sorted residential refuse, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and other domestic objects.

It represents just a single of 517 illegal tips in the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger locations is probably to be higher, as the environment authority has previously indicated it does not hold data on tonnage for all unlawful tip.

The majority sites are in countryside areas, frequently concealed, and on land that should be agricultural land.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities state a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by demanding significantly less than lawful firms to accept and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to pay gate fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Initial operations to clear the Kidlington area dump started recently due to worries over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A private waste removal company has been granted the job to handle the area over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national regulatory team stated that the body would be aiming to recoup the clearance costs under asset recovery legislation from any party prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She added that these detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and permit officials to "pursue more avenues to determine exactly what happened and who was involved".

"This unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate affront on our ecology and we share the community's anger at this horrific offence," she said.

A government official welcomed the detentions, stating: "This unlawful dumping of garbage at the site is appalling and has caused substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the surrounding residents.

"Our government is pledged to stamping out this category of crime across the country, by boosting financing to address illegal dumping, hiring more staff and introducing more severe controls and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime unit and follow an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in last November. He was released awaiting more inquiries.