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The initial sign the local man received of his situation was when a person living nearby urgently banged on his front door and told him his beloved Mini had plunged into a hole.

"I went out expecting a minor dip under a wheel or something like that. But when I went out to take a look, I understood, oh, that truly is a proper hole," he stated.

His automobile had dropped into a 3-metre wide gap, likely created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to figure out how to retrieve his car.

The Core Problem: Unclaimed Land

The hitch is that the property isn't registered. The authorities has stated it can't remove the fences cordoning off the hole until land ownership had been established. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed creative. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has lived in the neighborhood in Redruth for about a decade and actually has a parking space next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be practical so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the shop and the local authority that he wouldn't get a ticket.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a dependable small vehicle that was economical and easy to keep on the road. It meant I could at last focus on trying to put money aside to take my daughter on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Incident and Aftermath

Then came that knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The police turned up and closed the area off. We all had to stay in the houses because we can't get out without passing by the collapse. The highways people arrived, put the fence up, and then they came out and placed a second fence up around it as well."

It is thought the opening may be an unlucky remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a disused copper and tin mine.

McKenzie thought he would be separated from his car for a short period. But that short time have now turned into weeks.

A Possible Resolution

An conclusion may be in sight. The council has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the fences to allow the car to be removed. He said: "They are willing to work with my insurance company's recovery team and try to schedule a date and an acceptable way of extracting it that doesn't put anybody at danger."

The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is probably 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 claim their car was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Council Statement

A representative from the authorities said it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on council land. We have made the area safe and informed the vehicle owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the barrier to allow him to recover the car.

"Since no one owns the land, our safety measures will remain in place until property ownership has been established, and we will persist to monitor the vicinity to guarantee public safety."