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Two men have been detained as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous pile of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent report which uncovered the existence of more than 500 illegal sites across England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environment body said that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is consists of what looks to be sorted residential refuse, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and various everyday items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps across the country, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger sites is expected to be larger, as the regulatory body has earlier stated it does not hold information on volume for all unlawful dump.

The majority these sites are in agricultural areas, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be arable ground.

Criminal Activity

Police say numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are earning money by demanding much less than lawful companies to take and landfill rubbish.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the volume and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation efforts to clean up the Kidlington area location started recently amid fears over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been granted the task to deal with the location over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's environment unit stated that the body would be seeking to claim back the remediation costs under asset recovery laws from any individual convicted at the termination of its current inquiry.

She added that this week's detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit the agency to "follow more leads to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate attack on our natural surroundings and officials share the public's outrage at this terrible offence," she said.

A cabinet minister supported the detentions, adding: "The unauthorized dumping of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in substantial damage to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding population.

"Our authorities is dedicated to eradicating this category of criminality in the UK, by boosting financing to address environmental crime, employing more staff and implementing tougher measures and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated serious crime team and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further investigations.