Fly-tippers bury field in mountain of waste

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

The "environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight" was seen by the BBC to be to be up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

The enormous pile has appeared in a field next to the River Cherwell near Kidlington.

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

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."

BBC South Today reporter Jamie Morris visited the scene and said the mound appeared to be "20ft high at least".

He added that a restriction order had been put in place by the Environment Agency.

"It's really hard to distinguish any particular bits of waste because it looks like it's all been shredded up and then dumped and there's quite a bit of earth mixed in with it all," he said.

He added some of the rubbish had fallen down because it was so tall, which has meant the "proximity to the river is really close, about five metres".

Miller asked the government for help to remove the illegal tip before it caused a fire or was washed away 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 heatmaps 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 agency had served a restriction order to prevent further access to the site.

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

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

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.