Illegal dumpers bury countryside in mountain of rubbish

Witness

Fly-tippers have discarded a massive amount of garbage in a field in Oxfordshire.

The "ecological disaster developing in plain sight" is approximately 150m (490ft) extending and 6m (20ft) high.

The massive pile has been discovered in a field alongside the River Cherwell close to Kidlington.

Elected official raised the issue in parliament, stating it was "threatening an environmental disaster".

An environmental charity stated the unauthorized waste site was formed approximately a month ago by an illegal operation.

"This represents an environmental crisis taking place in plain sight.

"Each day that elapses raises the threat of toxic run-off entering the river system, poisoning fauna and endangering the health of the complete catchment.

"Environmental authorities must respond immediately, not in the distant future, which is their standard response period."

Legal prohibition had been established by the Environment Agency.

It is hard to identify any specific bits of rubbish as it looks to have been shredded with earth combined.

Some of the rubbish from the uppermost part of the heap has toppled and is now just five meters from the stream.

The River Cherwell is a feeder stream of the River Thames, which signifies it travels through Oxford before connecting with the Thames.

Parliament TV

The representative requested the authorities for support to eliminate the unauthorized dump before it resulted in a fire or was carried into the water network.

Addressing parliament members on this week, he said: "Criminals have discarded a huge quantity of unauthorized plastic waste... weighing substantial weight, in my constituency on a water-adjacent land alongside the River Cherwell.

"Water heights are growing and temperature readings indicate that the garbage is also heating up, elevating the danger of blaze.

"The Environment Agency reported it has inadequate resources for compliance, that the anticipated price of clearance is larger than the whole twelve-month allocation of the regional government."

Government official commented the administration had assumed responsibility for a failing waste industry that had caused an "growing issue of illegal waste disposal".

She told MPs the authority had issued a access ban to stop additional entry to the site.

In a statement, the authority stated it was investigating the situation and asked for information.

It said: "We share the community's frustration about situations like this, which is why we take action against those accountable for environmental offenses."

A recent investigation found initiatives to tackle major illegal dumping have been "severely overlooked" despite the situation growing bigger and more sophisticated.

A parliamentary committee recommended an independent "thorough" investigation into how "prevalent" environmental offenses is addressed.