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Two men have been detained as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge pile of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a prior report which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 illegal tips in England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body said that the detentions were for ecological and financial crimes and represented a "vital step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been let go on bail.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what seems to be processed residential refuse, chopped up plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and assorted household objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized sites across England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger dumps is expected to be higher, as the environment authority has previously indicated it does not maintain information on tonnage for every illegal tip.

The majority such locations are in rural locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Organised Enterprise

Police report a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by demanding significantly less than lawful operators to take and dispose of waste.

Firms have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparatory efforts to remove the Kidlington area site started earlier this month due to fears over the potential of blaze and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial waste removal firm has been given the job to handle the site over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environmental crime unit commented that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime acts from any individual ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that these arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our ecology and officials empathize with the local anger at this horrific offence," she stated.

A cabinet official praised the detentions, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has caused substantial damage to the environment and distress to the surrounding population.

"Our administration is committed to eliminating this type of illegal activity across the UK, by augmenting resources to address illegal dumping, hiring more officers and introducing stricter controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by agents from a regional serious crime squad and come after an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in last November. He was released pending further investigations.