Mountain of waste dumped in Oxfordshire field found to contain rubbish from councils

According to The Guardian, there is evidence that some of the waste comes from schools and councils in the south-east.

Paul Powlesland, barrister and founder of Lawyers for Nature, told the newspaper: "If confirmed this shows the waste is the result of large-scale fraud or corruption in local authority waste management."

Local MP, Calum Miller, said the cost to remove the rubbish will be "greater than the enter annual budget of the local district council".

The Environment Agency has obtained a court order to close the site to all public access for at least six months.

A spokesman said: "Specialist officers are investigating waste dumped near the A34 at Kidlington. Their role will be to find who left the waste there and take appropriate action.

"We share the public’s anger about incidents like this, which is why we take action against those responsible for waste crime."

While the agency has launched what it dubbed "a major criminal investigation" into the illegal waste dump, it will not clean up the mess.

Instead it said it would try to "ensure those responsible" for the dump clear it up.

A spokesman said: "This is a sickening case of large-scale illegal waste dumping and we share the public’s disgust.

"After the Environment Agency was made aware of the incident, we took immediate action, issuing a cease and desist order in July. "

Mr Miller, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, said the Environment Agency was not equipped to deal with the mountain of rubbish.

He told The Guardian: "This incident highlights the fact that organised criminal gangs are carefully planning operations to dump industrial waste in the countryside."

Director of policy at the Chartered Institute of Waste Management Dan Cooke said reports the waste at Kidlington had come from local authorities was "clearly of concern."

He said: "Local authorities should have traceability of everything that they handle and manage."

Evidence from the Environment Agency to rural crime partnerships suggests 117 organised crime groups are involved in illegal waste dumping, and 97 per cent of them are also engaged in other criminality, including firearms, modern-day slavery and money laundering.

However, the crime is not considered a priority by the police.

Local river guardian for the Cherwell Anya Gleizer said: "Clearing it up is going to be really lengthy and expensive. This is already polluting the water.

"The bare minimum that the Environment Agency could do is put some physical barriers along the heap to prevent plastic waste going into the river. We have begged them to do this.”

She added: "This waste is an environmental hazard to river ecosystems and biodiversity, and a threat to human health.

"It is full of microplastics which are leaching into the soil and the water. The pile contains hydrocarbons, there are fuel canisters and heavy metal."

A nearby pensioner who rents land next to the illegal dump claimed he had seen lorries coming in the daytime.

The man, who requested not to be named, told The Guardian: "When I have been working here what I have seen going on is unbelievable.

"You could hear the lorries coming, even in the day. They came to the gate and blasted on these big foghorns to let them know they wanted to come in. They have had big machines there digging holes."