Slough man arrested over 'appalling' waste dumping crime in Oxfordshire

A Slough man has been arrested in connection with an ‘atrocious and horrific attack on the environment’ that ‘shocked the community’ last year.

Last year, a very large heap of rubbish was found in a field next to the River Cherwell and the A34 in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. It had reportedly been building up for months.

The Environment Agency ‘responded immediately’ to first reports in early July. But despite a cease-and-desist letter, criminal activity on site continued in October.

As such, officers sought a court order to close the site, which put an end to the illegal waste dumping.

The Agency was clear that this was no ordinary case of fly-tipping, but rather, organised crime.

Its teams agreed a plan for deploying additional protective barriers, installing large sandbags between the waste pile and river, and securing the site with Heras fencing to prevent people from entering an active crime scene.

Alongside this, a criminal investigation took place to find the culprits – and a man from Surrey was arrested in November.

That same month, farmers attended RBWM council meetings to call for preventative measures, calling the mass dumping a ‘catastrophe’.

Come December, the Environment Agency announced it was planning work to clear the waste from the site.

Now two more men have been arrested in connection with the crime, including a 54-year-old man in Slough and a 69-year-old man in Andover.

Both suspects have been released on conditional bail pending further investigation.

The investigation was led by the EA’s National Environmental Crime Unit. The unit’s enforcement and investigations manager, Emma Viner, said:

“The illegal dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our environment, and the Environment Agency shares the community’s anger at this horrific crime.

“Our teams have been working tirelessly with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit on this investigation.

“These joint efforts have resulted in further arrests, which are another vital step in collecting new evidence and progressing our investigation.”

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said:

“The illegal dumping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has caused significant damage to the environment and distress to the local community.

“I welcome these arrests – an important step in securing justice for local residents.

“The Government is committed to stamping out this type of criminality across the country, by boosting funds to tackle waste crime, hiring more officers and introducing tougher checks and penalties for those who break the law.”

Works to remove the waste are planned for the end of February.

Any information on environmental crimes can be reported to the Environment Agency via its 24-hour incident hotline at 0800 807060 or anonymously via CrimeStoppers.