Rubbish dumped in 'Britain's biggest ever fly tip' measuring 500ft long contains waste from local councils and schools, it has been claimed.

The massive heap of hazardous material stretches 150m and is around 20ft (6m) deep and was found in a field next to the A34 and River Cherwell in Oxfordshire.

The waste has been described by an MP as "threatening an environmental disaster". "

One local has said he saw lorries full of rubbish dumping there ''every night for months''.

It has now been claimed it contains waste collected from local authorities in the south-east - was well as schools.

Paul Powlesland, a barrister and founder of Lawyers for Nature, told The Guardian it could be evidence of ''large-scale corruption in waste management''.

The Environment Agency has started a major criminal investigation.

A spokesperson said: "This is a sickening case of large-scale illegal waste dumping and we share the public's disgust."

"After the Environment Agency was made aware of the incident, we took immediate action – issuing a cease and desist order in July."

''When the risk of further dumping emerged we subsequently secured a court order to close the site to prevent more waste from being illegally tipped."

Criminal gangs are said to be illegally disposing of waste across the UK -- costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds.