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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the huge pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous report which uncovered the operation of more than 500 unauthorized tips across the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body said that the arrests were for ecological and financial offences and represented a "key step" in continuing probes. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to contain around 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is composed of what looks to be processed domestic refuse, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and assorted household objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized tips in the country, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger locations is probably to be greater, as the environment authority has previously indicated it does not hold records on tonnage for all unauthorized tip.

The majority these sites are in agricultural locations, often hidden, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Enterprise

Authorities state numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are making money by asking for far less than lawful companies to accept and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to pay site fees to use licensed disposal sites, based on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Initial efforts to clean up the affected location commenced recently due to concerns over the potential of combustion and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

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

An compliance official for the government regulatory team commented that the agency would be aiming to recoup the clean-up costs under confiscation laws from any individual found guilty at the end of its active case.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine precisely what happened and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated affront on our natural surroundings and officials share the public's anger at this egregious offence," she remarked.

A senior official supported the arrests, adding: "This unauthorized deposit of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the ecology and upset to the surrounding population.

"The administration is pledged to stamping out this kind of criminality in the nation, by boosting resources to tackle waste crime, employing more officers and implementing more severe checks and penalties for those who violate the law."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional organised crime unit and follow an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in last November. He was set free subject to more investigations.