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Two men have been arrested as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of rubbish in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in connection with the enormous pile of garbage dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous report which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites throughout England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities said that the apprehensions were for ecological and financial violations and were a "vital step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been released on bail.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to house around 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of rubbish is made up of what seems to be sorted household refuse, chopped up plastic items, polystyrene, tires and assorted household articles.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful tips across the country, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total number of such larger sites is expected to be larger, as the environment authority has earlier acknowledged it does not hold information on weight for all illegal dump.

Most these sites are in countryside areas, often out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement report a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by demanding far less than lawful companies to take and dispose of waste.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the amount and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Initial work to clear the Kidlington area dump commenced recently following concerns over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been granted the contract to handle the location over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime unit said that the body would be seeking to recover the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime laws from any individual successfully found guilty at the end of its active investigation.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit officials to "pursue more leads to understand in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an atrocious and intentional attack on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the local frustration at this horrific act," she remarked.

A senior official praised the actions, adding: "This unauthorized dumping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant detriment to the environment and upset to the surrounding population.

"Our authorities is pledged to stamping out this kind of crime in the country, by boosting resources to tackle illegal dumping, hiring more staff and implementing tougher controls and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime team and come after an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in last November. He was released pending more enquiries.