Waste mountain branded 'utterly appalling' by PM grew 40 feet high within months

A upland of discarded branded "utterly appalling" by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer grew truthful rapidly that astir of it was successful spot earlier the Environment Agency (EA) was adjacent alert of it.

Sky News revealed this week however the tract successful Oxfordshire, adjacent to the A34, went from a grassy tract successful March to a heap of rubbish 12 metres/40ft heavy successful September.

Sir Keir has called the country "utterly appalling" portion the EA says it is "laser focused" connected pursuing the perpetrators.

Anna Burns, the agency's manager for the Thames area, said those liable would wage for the "blight connected the landscape" they had left.

She said: "Most of the tipping happened earlier we were alert of it. As soon arsenic we were aware, we acted rapidly and decisively.

"We are pursuing this arsenic a transgression probe and presently pursuing a fig of leads, and we are laser focused connected pursing that investigation.

"And we are moving with partners to recognize the risks associated with the site.

"I wholly recognize wherefore communities privation this discarded gone, it's a blight connected the landscape."

She added that the discarded appeared to beryllium shredded home and commercialized waste, similar integrative and paper, which is non-hazardous, though it whitethorn besides see items similar batteries.

At the tract this week, Sky spotted an aged DVD, bony floss and AA batteries astatine the borderline of a discarded pile.

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Ms Burns' remarks travel arsenic the EA convenes a gathering astir the tract with organisations including Thames Valley Police, National Highways, and the section authority.

The bureau archetypal visited the tract astatine the opening of July, aft it was reported to them, and issued a cease-and-desist missive to halt further tipping.

After much dumping was past discovered, officers secured a tribunal bid to adjacent down the tract successful October.

Now the EA is monitoring h2o run-off from the tract and has installed a roar determination to effort to forestall leakage into the adjacent River Cherwell.

Earlier this week, Calum Miller, Liberal Democrat MP for Bicester and Woodstock, told Sky News that the clean-up cognition could transcend the full yearly fund for Cherwell District Council.