A man has been arrested following the discovery of a vast, illegally dumped mountain of waste stretching 150 metres alongside a major Oxfordshire road and perilously close to the River Cherwell.
The 39-year-old suspect, from the Guildford area, is now being questioned by officers from the Environment Agency (EA) in connection with this major fly-tipping incident near Kidlington.
A Criminal Investigation Unfolds
The shocking scale of the pollution came to public attention after campaigners released photographs of the enormous rubbish heap. The illegal dump occupies a 1.2-hectare (3-acre) site in a field bordering the environmentally sensitive River Cherwell.
Local MP Calum Miller has intervened, demanding the government issue an urgent directive for the clearance of the waste before it causes irreversible damage to the river.
The criminal probe, led by the Environment Agency, has been running at pace. Anna Burns, the EA's area director for the Thames, stated: "The appalling illegal waste dump in Kidlington has rightly provoked outrage over the potential consequences for the community and environment."
She confirmed that her team has been "working round the clock" with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice and forced to pay for the offence.
Timeline of a Pollution Crisis
Concerns about illegal activity on the site were first raised in the summer. In response, the Environment Agency sent a cease and desist letter to the landowner in July.
However, the situation escalated dramatically in September, when satellite imagery confirms the massive mountain of waste was deposited. Despite the EA's awareness of continued activity, it wasn't until 23 October that the agency secured a court order to officially close the site.
As part of the urgent response, EA officials visited the field last week and agreed on a plan to deploy additional protective barriers. The aim is to prevent the waste from leaching into the River Cherwell, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall or potential flooding.
Ongoing Environmental Threat
The primary concern remains the proximity of the 150-metre-long waste mountain to the River Cherwell. The risk of pollutants entering the watercourse poses a significant threat to local ecosystems and water quality.
The Environment Agency has pledged to work with urgency to install the protective measures, stating this is critical "to help minimise the movement of waste moving into the River Cherwell... and protect the environment."
This arrest marks a significant first step in an investigation that has now reached the highest levels of UK politics, with questions being asked in Parliament about how such a large-scale environmental crime could occur.
