Local officials have slammed a gigantic pile of fly-tipped waste in a quiet UK village as an “environmental disaster”. The 500-foot-long mountain of hazardous rubbish, which sits 20-feet high in a field near Kidlington, Oxfordshire, is believed to have been dumped in one go by a “criminal gang”. The mass of shredded waste, much of which is indistinguishable but appears to include pieces of wood, foam and plastic, was discovered two months ago in the grassy area that sits between the River Cherwell and the A34.
Cherwell District Council reportedly estimates that the cost of removing the vast accumulation of rubbish would exceed its entire annual budget, and local Liberal Democrat MP Calum Miller raised the issue as a pending “environmental disaster” in Parliament this week. “Criminals have dumped a mountain of illegal waste … weighing hundreds of tonnes in my constituency on a floodplain adjacent to the River Cherwell,” he told fellow MPs. “That’s not something that local residents and taxpayers can afford.”
Calum Miller MP suggested the fly-tipping was the work of a ‘criminal gang’ (Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
He also warned that the egregious example of fly-tipping was likely the work of “criminal gangs” and urged the government to take action before pollutants “leech out” into nearby waterways.
Laura Reineke, chief executive of charity group Friends of the Thames, similarly labelled the incident 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 our entire catchment,” she told the BBC. “The Environment Agency must act now, not in months of years, which is their usual reaction time.”
The public body has now put a restriction order in place at the site.
The mountain of rubbish was uncovered by the Kidlington Angling Society, with local angler Billy Burnell condemning it as “horrific”.
Mr Burnell, who said he first noticed the pile of rubbish back in September, told the BBC that the dumped waste is a “disaster waiting to happen” and called for “instantaneous reactions” from authorities.
Environment minister Mary Creagh said Labour had inherited a failing waste management system and an “epidemic of fly-tipping” upon coming to power last year.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “The Environment Agency is aware and investigating. If anyone has any information then please call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
