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The first sign the local man had of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his front door and informed him his cherished Mini had plunged into a hole.

"I went out expecting a minor dip under a tire or something similar. But when I walked out to take a look, I understood, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he explained.

His automobile had dropped into a 10-foot wide gap, possibly caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "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 authorities has stated it won't take down the barriers cordoning off the sinkhole until property rights had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

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 verified with both the shop and the local authority that he would avoid receiving 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 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 Aftermath

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

It is believed the hole may be an unfortunate remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a abandoned copper and tin mine.

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

A Possible Solution

An end may be approaching. The council has stated it will work with McKenzie to – briefly – remove the fences to allow the car to be removed. He said: "They are willing to assist my insurance company's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an suitable way of getting it out that doesn't put anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can say their vehicle was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie noted.

Authority Response

A representative from the local council expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it added: "The ground giving way did not occur on council land. We have secured the location and informed the vehicle owner that we will organize to lift the fence to allow him to retrieve the car.

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