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Two men have been arrested as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in association with the huge mound of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent revelation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 illegal sites throughout England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental agency said that the detentions were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and were a "vital step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Size of the Issue

The dump in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what appears to be processed domestic rubbish, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and other household objects.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful tips in England, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total number of such major dumps is likely to be higher, as the regulatory authority has in the past indicated it does not maintain data on volume for all unauthorized dump.

A large proportion of sites are in rural locations, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organized Activity

Authorities report numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by charging much less than legitimate firms to accept and landfill waste.

Firms have to pay site fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the amount and category of material they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Initial work to remove the affected dump commenced in recent weeks following concerns over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been given the contract to handle the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the government environmental crime division commented that the body would be seeking to recover the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from anyone successfully convicted at the end of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more leads to determine in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated affront on our environment and the authorities empathize with the community's anger at this terrible crime," she stated.

A senior official supported the actions, commenting: "This unlawful deposit of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has caused significant damage to the environment and distress to the local population.

"The government is dedicated to stamping out this category of criminality throughout the nation, by increasing resources to tackle waste crime, hiring more staff and introducing more severe checks and penalties for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were made on Thursday by personnel from a regional crime unit and come after an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was let go pending additional enquiries.