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Two individuals have been detained as an element of an probe into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a recent investigation which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 illegal tips across the country of England, including at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and financial offences and represented a "key step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to house about 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is consists of what appears to be treated residential waste, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic items.

It constitutes just one of 517 unauthorized sites across the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such larger locations is likely to be higher, as the regulatory body has previously indicated it does not hold information on weight for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of these sites are in agricultural areas, typically hidden, and on land that should be farm ground.

Organised Activity

Police state a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by demanding much less than lawful operators to accept and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to incur site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Preparation work to remove the Kidlington area location started earlier this month due to fears over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal company has been granted the contract to deal with the area over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's environmental crime unit commented that the body would be looking to claim back the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more avenues to determine precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional attack on our ecology and officials understand the public's anger at this terrible offence," she stated.

A senior official supported the actions, commenting: "This unauthorized dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is appalling and has resulted in substantial detriment to the environment and anguish to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is pledged to eradicating this type of illegal activity throughout the nation, by augmenting funds to address waste crime, recruiting more staff and introducing stricter measures and penalties for those who flout the law."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a dedicated crime team and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was released subject to further inquiries.