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Parliament TV<\/p>\nMarcus White,South of England and <\/p>\n
Jamie Morris,South Today, in Kidlington<\/p>\n
The site has been called an “environmental catastrophe”.<\/p>\n
BBC reporter Jamie Morris visited the scene and said the mound appeared to be “20ft high at least”.<\/p>\n
Fly-tippers have dumped a mountain of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.<\/p>\n
The “environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight” was seen to be up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.<\/p>\n
The enormous pile has appeared in a field next to the River Cherwell near Kidlington.<\/p>\n
Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, raised the issue in parliament, saying it was “threatening an environmental disaster”.<\/p>\n
Charity Friends of the Thames said the illegal rubbish dump was created about a month ago by an organised crime group.<\/p>\n
Chief executive Laura Reineke said: “This is an environmental catastrophe unfolding in plain sight.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“The Environment Agency must act now, not in months or years, which is their usual reaction time.”<\/p>\n
A restriction order had been put in place by the Environment Agency.<\/p>\n
It is hard to distinguish any particular bits of waste as it appears to have been shredded with earth mixed in with it all.<\/p>\n
Some of the rubbish has fallen down because it was so tall, which has meant the proximity to the river is about five metres.<\/p>\n
Miller asked the government for help to remove the illegal tip before it caused a fire or was washed away into the river system.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“River levels are rising and heatmaps show that the waste is also heating up, raising the risk of fire.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Environment minister Mary Creagh said the government had inherited a failing waste industry that had caused an “epidemic of illegal fly-tipping”.<\/p>\n
She told MPs the agency had served a restriction order to prevent further access to the site.<\/p>\n
Parliament TV<\/p>\n
Calum Miller MP said the cost of removing the waste would be high<\/p>\n
In a statement, the agency said it was investigating and appealed for information.<\/p>\n
It said: “We share the public’s anger about incidents like this, which is why we take action against those responsible for waste crime.”<\/p>\n