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Two men have been detained as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the huge heap of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a recent report which exposed the operation of over 500 illegal sites in England, including at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental agency commented that the detentions were for ecological and financial offences and constituted a "key step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to house around 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is consists of what seems to be processed household waste, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and various domestic objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such larger sites is expected to be higher, as the regulatory body has earlier stated it does not hold records on volume for all unlawful site.

The majority sites are in rural settings, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as arable ground.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement report a significant number are run by organized crime groups, who are generating cash by asking for far less than lawful companies to take and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Anger

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington dump started earlier this month due to worries over the potential of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been given the job to remediate the location over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government regulatory division commented that the body would be looking to claim back the clean-up funds under asset recovery legislation from any party found guilty at the termination of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and allow the agency to "pursue more avenues to understand in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful tip at the site was an appalling and calculated affront on our ecology and officials empathize with the local frustration at this egregious offence," she stated.

A cabinet official praised the arrests, stating: "This unlawful tipping of waste at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and anguish to the nearby residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eliminating this kind of crime throughout the UK, by augmenting financing to address illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and introducing stricter measures and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on the specified day by agents from a specialist crime squad and come after an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was let go pending further investigations.