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Two men have been detained as an element of an investigation into the tipping of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the enormous mound of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a previous investigation which exposed the presence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps throughout England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory body said that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "key step" in active probes. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to house about 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is composed of what appears to be processed domestic rubbish, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted household articles.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful sites throughout the country, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of waste. These include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The overall amount of such major dumps is probably to be higher, as the regulatory authority has previously indicated it does not maintain records on weight for every illegal site.

Most sites are in countryside settings, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Organized Enterprise

Law enforcement say numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are making cash by charging much less than licensed firms to take and dispose of waste.

Firms have to be liable for site fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the volume and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Anger

Preparatory operations to clear the Kidlington area location commenced in recent weeks amid worries over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been granted the job to remediate the site over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the government environmental crime unit commented that the authority would be seeking to recover the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone found guilty at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She noted that these detentions would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more avenues to ascertain in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate affront on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the local outrage at this horrific crime," she stated.

A senior representative supported the detentions, stating: "The unlawful tipping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has resulted in considerable harm to the natural world and distress to the local population.

"The authorities is committed to eradicating this type of crime throughout the nation, by boosting resources to tackle environmental crime, employing more officers and enacting more severe measures and fines for those who violate the law."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by personnel from a dedicated serious crime unit and are in addition to an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go pending additional inquiries.