Overview
- A 39-year-old from the Guildford area was arrested on Tuesday following cooperation between the Environment Agency and the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
- The Environment Agency has designated the dump beside the River Cherwell a critical incident and is treating the area as an active crime scene.
- Teams are installing large sandbags and Heras fencing, with a boom already on the river, while monitoring for pollution and asking the public to stay away.
- A court order secured on 23 October halted further tipping after earlier enforcement in July, and multiple investigative lines are now being pursued by specialist waste-crime units.
- Local leaders warn removal could exceed Cherwell District Council’s annual budget and are pressing for national funding while the EA pursues a polluter-pays approach.