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The first sign the local man received of his predicament was when a neighbor loudly knocked on his front door and told him his beloved Mini had fallen into a hole.

"I stepped outside 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 vehicle had descended into a 3-metre wide opening, likely caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Main Problem: Unclaimed Land

The hitch is that the land isn't registered. The authorities has said it can't remove the barriers blocking off the sinkhole until property rights had been established. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance designer. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."

McKenzie has lived in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a parking space next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be useful so he began parking outside a nearby bakery. He had checked with both the bakery and the local authority that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a reliable little car that was economical and simple 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 constantly dreamed to go."

The Event and Aftermath

Then came that knock on the door on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The officers turned up and secured the area off. We all had to remain in the houses because we can't get out without going past the collapse. The road crew arrived, erected the fence up, and then they came out and placed a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

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

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

A Potential Resolution

An end may be in sight. The council has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the fences to allow the car to be recovered. He commented: "They have agreed to assist my insurer's recovery team and try to schedule a day and an acceptable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been significantly harmed and is probably to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in a memorable way – not everyone can say their car was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie noted.

Authority Response

A spokesperson from the authorities 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 organize to temporarily remove the fence to enable him to retrieve the vehicle.

"Since no one owns the land, our safety measures will remain in place until property ownership has been determined, and we will persist to observe the surrounding area to ensure everyone's security."