Individual arrested in connection with Kidlington illegal waste dumping
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-25)

39-year-old male was arrested on 25 November as part of an investigation into the large-scale, illegal tipping of waste near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

A man has been arrested today (Tuesday 25 November) as part of an investigation into the large-scale, illegal tipping of waste at a site in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

Cooperation between Environment Agency enforcement officers from the Major Investigation team and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit helped to secure the arrest and custody of the suspect. The 39-year-old male is from the Guildford area.

Following the first report of waste being tipped in Kidlington, the Environment Agency responded immediately with officers attending the site on 2 July, and a cease-and-desist letter was issued to ensure further tipping was prevented.

After officers became aware of continued criminal activity on site in October, a court order was sought and granted to close the site. Since this was granted on 23 October, no further tipping has taken place. For both safety reasons and because the site is now a live crime scene, members of the public should avoid entering the site.

Our investigation, which is being led by our National Environmental Crime Unit, seeks to establish those responsible for co-ordinating the offending and bring them to court. This arrest will be an important and welcome step in delivering justice for the local community.

Anna Burns, the Environment Agency’s Area Director for The Thames, said:

The appalling illegal waste dump in Kidlington has rightly provoked outrage over the potential consequences for the community and environment.

We have been working round the clock with the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit to bring the perpetrators to justice and make them pay for this offence. Our investigative efforts have secured an arrest today, which will be the first step in delivering justice for residents and punishing those responsible.

Phil Davies, Head of the Joint Unit for Waste Crime, said:

The Environment Agency is working closely with other law enforcement partners to identify and hold those responsible for the horrendous illegal dumping of waste that has taken place in Kidlington. A number of active lines of investigation are being pursued by specialist officers.

We would ask that the public and media do not speculate about the identity of any other individuals who may be connected with the offending at this location, or interfere with the waste on site as we continue to treat it as an active crime scene.

The Environment Agency is continuing its work to protect the community and environment from the impacts of this crime, conducting rigorous assessments of risks to the River Cherwell and monitoring any impacts on the ground.

Environment Agency teams have also agreed a plan for deploying additional protective barriers. This week, we are installing large sandbags between the waste pile and river as an additional barrier, and securing the site with Heras fencing to prevent entry to this active crime scene.

We will share regular updates via social media (https://x.com/EnvAgency), our blog (https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2025/11/19/how-were-tackling-illegal-waste-dumping-and-protecting-our-environment/) and engagement HQ (https://engageenvironmentagency.uk.engagementhq.com/thames-regulated-industry-sites/news_feed/south-elmsall-site-inspection-march-2025), so people can follow progress without visiting the site. Any information can be reported to the Environment Agency via its 24-hour incident hotline at xx-xxxx-xxxx or anonymously via CrimeStoppers (https://crimestoppers-uk.org/).