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The first sign the local man had of his situation was when a neighbor urgently banged on his door and told him his beloved Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I went out expecting a small pothole under a wheel or something like that. But when I went out to take a look, I understood, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he stated.

His automobile had descended into a 10-foot wide opening, likely caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Core Issue: Unclaimed Property

The hitch is that the land has no registered owner. The authorities 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 freelance creative. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and actually has a designated spot beside his house, but it is too narrow to be practical so he started leaving his car outside a local bakery. He had verified 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 getting somewhere, I had a reliable small vehicle that was economical and easy to keep on the road. It signified I could finally focus on trying to save up to take my child on her aspirational journey to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Consequences

Then came that knock on the door on a Saturday in November. "The person next door was very alarmed. The police turned up and secured the zone off. We all had to remain in the homes because we couldn't leave without passing by the collapse. The road crew arrived, erected the barrier up, and then they came out and put a second fence up around it as well."

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

McKenzie believed he would be without his vehicle for a few days. But that short time have now become weeks.

A Potential Solution

An conclusion may be approaching. The council has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the barriers to permit 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 suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been badly damaged and is likely to be written off. "On the bright side I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can claim their vehicle was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Statement

A representative from the local council said it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "The ground giving way did not occur on council land. We have made the area safe and informed the vehicle owner that we will arrange to lift the barrier to allow him to recover the vehicle.

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