Fly-tippers bury field in 'shocking' mountain of waste

Fly-tippers have dumped a "grotesque" mountain of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

The "environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight" is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high and has appeared on a site between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington.

Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, has raised the issue in Parliament, saying it was "threatening an environmental disaster".

He also said Cherwell District Council had estimated the cost of removing the waste would be greater than its entire annual budget.

"This is not a licensed waste site and we can just see the quantity of waste that has been dumped here, that's illegal, so it's criminal," Mr Miller said, calling it "pollution on a grotesque scale".

"That's not something that local residents and taxpayers can afford."

He says "criminal gangs are dumping waste on this scale" across the country and it will take government intervention before pollutants "leech out" into local rivers.

The Environment Agency said it would try to "ensure those responsible" for the waste cleared it up.

Charity Friends of the Thames said the illegal rubbish dump was created about a month ago by an organised crime group.

Chief executive Laura Reineke said: "This is an environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight.

"Every day that passes increases the risk of toxic run-off entering the river system, poisoning wildlife and threatening the health of the entire catchment.

"The Environment Agency must act now, not in months or years, which is their usual reaction time."

A restriction order had been put in place by the Environment Agency.

It is hard to distinguish any particular bits of waste as it appears to have been shredded with earth mixed in.

Some of the rubbish from the top of the pile has toppled and is now only five metres from the river.

The River Cherwell is a tributary of the River Thames, which means it flows through Oxford before joining the Thames.

Local angler Billy Burnell regularly fishes in the area and said he noticed the pile in September.

He called it "horrific" and said the potential run-off into the river is an "environmental disaster waiting to happen" and would like to see "instantaneous reactions" from the authorities to incidents like this.

Miller asked the government for help to remove the illegal tip before it caused a fire or was washed into the river system.

Addressing MPs on Thursday, he said: "Criminals have dumped a mountain of illegal plastic waste... weighing hundreds of tonnes, in my constituency on a floodplain adjacent to the River Cherwell.

"River levels are rising and heat-maps show that the waste is also heating up, raising the risk of fire.

"The Environment Agency said it has limited resources for enforcement, that the estimated cost of removal is greater than the entire annual budget of the local district council."

Environment minister Mary Creagh said the government had inherited a failing waste industry that had caused an "epidemic of illegal fly-tipping".

She told MPs the Environment Agency had served a restriction order to prevent further access to the site.

In a statement, the body said it was investigating and appealed for information.

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

"The cornerstone of our investigations is to ensure those responsible for waste clear it.

"The Environment Agency would only step in and clear this or any site if it was abandoned, had no identifiable person, or the waste posed an imminent threat to life – we operate under the Polluter Pays Principle."

Thames Valley Police has said it was not currently involved in the case and the Environment Agency was leading the investigation.

A recent House of Lords report found efforts to tackle serious waste crime have been "critically under-prioritised" despite the problem becoming bigger and more sophisticated.

The Environment and Climate Change Committee recommended an independent "root and branch" inquiry into how "endemic" waste crime is tackled.

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.