PM condemns illegal rubbish heap as 'appalling'

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has described a mountain of fly-tipped waste in Oxfordshire as "appalling" and said "all available powers" would be used to make those responsible pay for the clean-up.

The heap is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high and has appeared on a field between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington.

Starmer made the comments during PMQs after Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey asked if the Environment Agency would be instructed to clean it up.

"The water is now lapping against the waste and carrying it into the river," Davey said.

He added: "It's just one of many sites... where organised criminal gangs are illegally dumping their waste onto our countryside and getting away with it.

"This is a shocking environmental emergency."

Starmer replied: "Firstly, these are utterly appalling scenes.

"A criminal investigation - as he knows - is under way and specialist officers are tracking down those responsible.

"The Environmental Agency.. will use all available powers to make sure that the perpetrators cover the cost of the clean-up, which must now follow."

It comes as the landowner of a site next to the huge heap of waste said he saw truckloads of rubbish dumped there every night for months.

Fly-tippers are thought to have been building up the mound of waste since the summer.

The rubbish itself is made up of what appears to be processed domestic waste, shredded plastics, polystyrene, tyres, and other household items.

The BBC has contacted the EA for a comment on the estimate clean-up cost.