Kidlington waste mountain: How events unfolded

Reports that a mountain of fly-tipped waste had been dumped illegally in a field in Oxfordshire have prompted a wave of outrage.

Environmental campaigners, local residents and even Prime Minster Kier Starmer have condemned the “sickening case” and demanded swift action.

The pile is up to 490ft (150m) long and 20ft (6m) high and is located on a site between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington.

But many questions remain unanswered, including who dumped the waste and how long it will take to remove.

Here is what we know so far.

The illegal waste site is located in a field next to the A34 near Kidlington.

The land itself is a strange shape, almost like a frying pan with a long thin handle opening up to a larger basin.

The whole area has been used to dispose of waste, though the majority appears to have been deposited in the thin-handle section close to the River Cherwell, with tree coverage on either side.

It was sold in January and HM Land Registry have given the BBC the name of the current landowner but we have been unable to contact him.

Locals reported seeing activity on the site as early as June and satellite images from that month show disturbance to an area of land to the west of the A34.

Joshua Eastwood owns land in the neighbouring field and told the BBC he witnessed trucks coming to dispose of waste in the summer.

He said: “If you were here late at night in the summer, or towards the early hours of the morning, two or three artics [articulated lorries] would come off the carriageway from the M40, do a loop of the roundabout, pull in, dump.

“An excavator comes in, shifts it all and then they’re gone. By morning, it’s all over and by the time we can report it they’ve done another load.”

The rubbish pile consists of processed, shredded domestic and commercial waste, including shredded plastics, polystyrene, tyres and other household items.

Reports of activity at the site were made to both Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council in June.

The Environment Agency (EA) first visited the site on 2 July, issuing a cease and desist order to the landowner.

But activity continued at the site after this and, on 23 October, the EA placed a restriction order on the land following court approval.

We have analysed satellite imagery which shows activity in late September but locals, including Mr Eastwood, say they have seen activity as late as October.

We first reported the story on 14 November. Three days later, MP for Bicester and Woodstock Calum Miller asked an urgent question in the House of Commons, saying the situation had become “much more urgent” and asked the government to intervene.

Environment Minister Emma Hardy said the EA was investigating and had acted to prevent further access to the site.

On 19 November, Sir Keir said during Prime Minister’s Questions that “all available powers” would be used to make those responsible pay for the clean-up.

MP’s and local environmental groups have continued to put pressure on the EA and the government, calling the dumping an “environmental catastrophe” amid concerns about an immediate risk of pollution to the nearby River Cherwell.

The EA has insisted the “polluter pays” and refused to disclose when the waste might be cleared but said it was conducting a major investigation and multi-agency response.

“Let’s be absolutely clear – we have the resources, expertise and determination to deal with this situation effectively,” it said.

In a busy week for the EA, further securing the site from trespassers and mitigating pollution risk, it announced an arrest had been made on the 25 November.

A 39-year-old man from the Guildford area, in Surrey, had been held in connection with the pile of rubbish, it said.

A day later it announced the suspect had been released “pending further investigation, which continues at speed.”

Efforts to tackle serious waste crime have been “critically under-prioritised” despite the problem becoming bigger and more sophisticated, a House of Lords report found last month.

The practice – dubbed the “new narcotics” by former EA chief Sir James Bevan – is estimated to cost the UK economy about £1bn a year, according to the Environmental Services Association.

Committee chairwoman Baroness Shas Sheehan said the agency has the powers to prosecute, fine and put people behind bars “but fails to do so”.

“The deterrence factor is very low and the profits are very high,” she said.

A Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson said the government was “taking action to clean up Britain and tackle waste gangs” and would be responding to the report “in due course”.