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

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous pile of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous revelation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful sites in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the regulatory body stated that the detentions were for ecological and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "key step" in active inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is thought to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is consists of what looks to be processed household refuse, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and various domestic items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized tips in England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such bigger locations is probably to be greater, as the environmental authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold information on weight for all illegal dump.

Most sites are in agricultural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organised Operations

Police say a significant number are operated by criminal organizations, who are making profit by asking for far less than lawful firms to take and landfill waste.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington dump began in recent weeks due to fears over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environment division stated that the agency would be seeking to recover the clean-up expenses under asset recovery acts from any party ultimately convicted at the end of its active case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "move the probe forward" and enable officials to "follow more avenues to ascertain in detail what happened and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated affront on our ecology and we share the community's outrage at this terrible act," she said.

A cabinet official supported the actions, commenting: "The unauthorized tipping of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the environment and anguish to the local residents.

"The government is pledged to eliminating this kind of criminality in the UK, by increasing financing to address illegal dumping, recruiting more officers and implementing more severe checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime squad and come after an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was set free subject to more inquiries.