A man has been arrested in connection with the illegal dumping of a mountain of waste by a river in Oxfordshire.
The 39-year-old, from the Guildford area, is being questioned after his arrest by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
The dumping of tonnes of waste in a field alongside the River Cherwell, outside Kidlington, came to light recently after campaigners posted images of the scale of the waste mountain.
Local MP Calum Miller has called for the government to issue an urgent directive for the clearance of the illegal dump in his constituency before it causes irreparable damage to the river.
The criminal investigation into the waste dumping is being led by the Environment Agency (EA).
Anna Burns, the agency’s area director for the Thames, said: “The appalling illegal waste dump in Kidlington has rightly provoked outrage over the potential consequences for the community and environment.
“We have been working round the clock with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit to bring the perpetrators to justice and make them pay for this offence.
“Our investigative efforts have secured an arrest today [Tuesday], which will be the first step in delivering justice for residents and punishing those responsible.”
The arrest comes after questions were asked in parliament about the waste dumping.
Suspicions that the 1.2-hectare (3-acre) site was being used for illegal dumping were first raised in the summer.
In July, the Environment Agency sent a cease and desist letter to the landowner. But sometime in September – according to satellite images of the site – the vast mountain of waste was dumped.
The EA said that after officers became aware of continued activity on the site they were granted a court order to close it on 23 October.
Last week, the agency said its officials visited the field and agreed a plan for deploying additional protective barriers to stop the waste polluting the river.
The EA said: “They will now be working with urgency to get these in place to help minimise the movement of waste moving into the River Cherwell if heavy rainfall or flooding occurs, and protect the environment.”
