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Two men have been detained as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the huge pile of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a recent investigation which uncovered the existence of more than 500 unauthorized sites throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body stated that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering offences and were a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been released on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what looks to be sorted residential rubbish, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted domestic objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful tips in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such major locations is likely to be greater, as the regulatory body has in the past acknowledged it does not hold records on tonnage for each unauthorized site.

The majority such locations are in rural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organized Operations

Authorities say a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by demanding much less than licensed firms to receive and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and nature of material they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Preparatory work to remove the Kidlington area location started in recent weeks following concerns over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by major road.

A contracted waste clearance company has been granted the task to remediate the location over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the national regulatory division stated that the body would be aiming to recoup the clean-up funds under asset recovery laws from anyone prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.

She added that this week's arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more avenues to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at the site was an shocking and deliberate attack on our natural surroundings and we understand the local outrage at this egregious crime," she stated.

A government official welcomed the actions, stating: "This unauthorized tipping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has led to substantial harm to the natural world and upset to the local community.

"Our authorities is committed to eradicating this category of criminality throughout the nation, by augmenting resources to address illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter measures and fines for those who break the law."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime unit and come after an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting additional enquiries.