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Two individuals have been detained as an element of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of tons of waste in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in connection with the enormous pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior investigation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 illegal tips throughout England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory body commented that the detentions were for environmental and financial crimes and were a "vital step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of waste is consists of what seems to be sorted residential refuse, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various everyday items.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful tips across England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such major sites is likely to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously acknowledged it does not possess data on tonnage for every unauthorized tip.

The majority these sites are in countryside areas, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement state numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are making money by demanding far less than licensed operators to take and landfill waste.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the amount and category of material they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Preparatory operations to clear the Kidlington dump started in recent weeks following fears over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the close-by highway.

A private clean-up company has been given the contract to deal with the location over the coming 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's regulatory team stated that the authority would be seeking to recover the remediation funds under confiscation legislation from anyone found guilty at the termination of its current investigation.

She added that these detentions would help "push the probe forward" and enable officials to "pursue more avenues to determine exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at this location was an appalling and calculated attack on our ecology and we understand the community's outrage at this horrific offence," she stated.

A government minister welcomed the detentions, stating: "The illegal dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has caused significant harm to the natural world and distress to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is dedicated to eliminating this category of crime in the country, by boosting financing to combat illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and implementing tougher controls and fines for those who break the law."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by officers from a regional crime squad and come after an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in November. He was set free pending additional enquiries.