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The first indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his predicament was when a person living nearby urgently banged on his door and informed him his beloved Mini had fallen into a hole.

"I stepped outside expecting a minor dip under a tire or something like that. But when I walked out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a proper hole," he stated.

His vehicle had dropped into a 10-foot wide opening, possibly caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his car.

The Main Issue: Unregistered Property

The complication is that the land isn't registered. The authorities has stated it won't take down the fences cordoning off the sinkhole until land ownership had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed creative. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about a decade and actually has a parking space beside his house, but it is too narrow to be useful so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the bakery and the local authority that he would avoid receiving a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a dependable little car that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It signified I could finally focus on trying to save up to take my child on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Consequences

Then came that loud rapping on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door was very alarmed. The police arrived and closed the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we can't get out without going past the collapse. The highways people came out, put the barrier up, and then they came out and put a additional barrier up around it as well."

It is thought the opening may be an unlucky remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a abandoned mining site.

McKenzie believed he would be without his vehicle for a short period. But that short time have now turned into weeks.

A Potential Resolution

An conclusion may be approaching. The council has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the fences to allow the car to be removed. He commented: "They have agreed to work with my insurance company's retrieval crew and try to schedule a day and an suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been significantly harmed and is probably to be written off. "On the bright side I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can say their vehicle was eaten by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Response

A spokesperson from the authorities expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it added: "The ground giving way did not occur on public property. We have made the area safe and advised the car owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the fence to allow him to recover the car.

"As the land is unregistered, our barriers will remain in place until property ownership has been established, and we will persist to observe the surrounding area to guarantee everyone's security."