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Two men have been detained as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tons of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in association with the huge pile of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a prior investigation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps across England, including 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 offences and represented a "vital step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to contain about 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what looks to be sorted residential waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tires and other everyday items.

It is just one of 517 unlawful sites in England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such major dumps is expected to be larger, as the environmental authority has previously indicated it does not possess data on volume for each illegal tip.

The majority sites are in rural settings, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organised Activity

Police say numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are making profit by demanding far less than licensed operators to take and dispose of waste.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the amount and category of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Preparatory work to clean up the affected location commenced earlier this month due to concerns over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been given the job to deal with the site over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the government environment division stated that the agency would be seeking to recover the clean-up funds under proceeds of crime legislation from any individual successfully convicted at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and permit the agency to "follow more leads to understand exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"The illegal dump at the site was an atrocious and calculated affront on our ecology and officials empathize with the local outrage at this horrific offence," she said.

A government minister welcomed the actions, adding: "The unauthorized deposit of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused considerable detriment to the ecology and anguish to the nearby residents.

"The government is dedicated to eliminating this type of illegal activity across the nation, by augmenting financing to combat waste crime, hiring more personnel and introducing tougher checks and penalties for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by personnel from a specialist organised crime team and come after an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in the autumn. He was let go pending further inquiries.