🔗 Share this article

---

Illegal dumpers have discarded a massive amount of rubbish in a rural area in Oxfordshire.

The "ecological disaster occurring in public view" is around 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

The enormous heap has appeared in a plot of land adjacent to the River Cherwell near Kidlington.

Elected official brought up the situation in parliament, saying it was "posing risk of an environmental emergency".

Conservation group reported the unauthorized garbage pile was created around a month ago by an criminal network.

"This represents an ecological disaster unfolding in plain sight.

"Daily that elapses elevates the risk of poisonous drainage getting into the aquatic network, contaminating wildlife and threatening the wellbeing of the whole catchment.

"The Environment Agency must act now, not in months or years, which is their standard response period."

Legal prohibition had been put in place by the environmental authorities.

It is hard to recognize any particular bits of garbage as it looks to have been broken up with soil mixed in.

Some of the rubbish from the uppermost part of the heap has collapsed and is now merely five metres from the river.

The River Cherwell is a feeder stream of the River Thames, which means it runs through Oxford before joining the Thames.

The representative asked the administration for help to eliminate the unauthorized dump before it caused a inferno or was carried into the aquatic system.

Addressing MPs on Thursday, he said: "Illegal operators have dumped a mountain of unlawful synthetic materials... weighing hundreds of tonnes, in my constituency on a water-adjacent land adjacent to the River Cherwell.

"Stream volumes are growing and thermal imaging demonstrate that the waste is also heating up, raising the risk of fire.

"Environmental authorities stated it has limited capabilities for enforcement, that the anticipated price of disposal is greater than the whole annual funding of the local district council."

Government official commented the government had inherited a failing waste industry that had caused an "widespread problem of unlawful fly-tipping".

She told representatives the authority had implemented a restriction order to stop more admission to the location.

In a statement, the authority said it was investigating the incident and asked for details.

It commented: "We understand the community's anger about incidents like this, which is why we respond against those culpable for environmental offenses."

A recently published investigation discovered efforts to address serious waste crime have been "extremely neglected" despite the problem developing into bigger and more complex.

Government advisors suggested an separate "comprehensive" inquiry into how "widespread" environmental offenses is tackled.