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The first sign Malcolm McKenzie had of his predicament was when a person living nearby urgently banged on his front door and told him his beloved Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I stepped outside anticipating a minor dip under a wheel or something similar. But when I went out to check it out, I understood, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he stated.

His automobile had dropped into a 10-foot wide opening, possibly caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to determine how to retrieve his Mini.

The Core Issue: Unregistered Land

The complication is that the property isn't registered. The local council has said it can't remove the fences cordoning off the hole until property rights had been confirmed. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a parking space beside his house, but it is not wide enough to be useful so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the shop and the council that he would avoid receiving a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a dependable small vehicle that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It meant I could finally focus on trying to put money aside to take my child on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Aftermath

Then arrived that knock on the door on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The officers arrived and closed the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we can't get out without passing by the collapse. The road crew arrived, erected the barrier up, and then they returned and placed a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

It is believed the hole may be an unlucky remnant of a historic local mine, a abandoned copper and tin mine.

McKenzie thought he would be without his vehicle for a few days. But that short time have now turned into weeks.

A Possible Solution

An conclusion may be in sight. The council has stated it will work with McKenzie to – briefly – remove the barriers to allow the Mini to be removed. He commented: "They are willing to assist my insurer's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "On the bright side I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can say their car was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Response

A representative from the local council expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on council land. We have secured the location and advised the vehicle owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the barrier to enable him to recover the vehicle.

"Since no one owns the land, our safety measures will stay up until property ownership has been established, and we will continue to monitor the surrounding area to guarantee public safety."