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The initial indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his front door and informed him his cherished Mini had fallen into a hole.

"I went out expecting a small pothole under a tire or something like that. But when I went out to take a look, I realized, oh, that truly is a significant cavity," he explained.

His automobile had dropped into a 3-metre wide gap, likely created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to determine how to extricate his car.

The Main Issue: Unregistered Land

The complication is that the land isn't registered. The authorities has said it won't take down the fences blocking off the sinkhole until land ownership had been confirmed. "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 a decade and actually has a parking space beside his house, but it is not wide enough to be practical so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had verified with both the bakery and the council 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 fuel-efficient and simple to keep on the road. It signified I could finally focus on trying to put money aside to take my daughter on her dream trip to Japan one day. She's always wanted 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 remain in the homes because we can't get out without going past the collapse. The road crew arrived, put the barrier up, and then they came out and put a additional barrier up around it as well."

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

McKenzie thought he would be without his car for a short period. But days have now become weeks.

A Possible Solution

An conclusion may be in sight. The authorities has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the fences to permit the Mini to be removed. He commented: "They are willing to work with my insurer's retrieval crew and try to schedule a day and an suitable way of extracting it that doesn't put anybody at risk."

The car has been badly damaged and is probably to be written off. "On the bright side I can say my Mini met its end in style – not everyone can say their car was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Council Statement

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

"Since no one owns the land, our barriers will stay up until property ownership has been determined, and we will continue to observe the surrounding area to guarantee everyone's security."