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The initial indication Malcolm McKenzie received of his situation was when a person living nearby loudly knocked on his front door and told him his cherished Mini had plunged into a hole.

"I stepped outside anticipating 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 stated.

His vehicle had dropped into a 3-metre wide opening, possibly created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to figure out how to retrieve his Mini.

The Core Issue: Unclaimed Land

The complication is that the property isn't registered. The local council has said it won't take down the fences blocking off the hole until property rights had been established. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has lived in the neighborhood in Redruth for about a decade and actually has a parking space next to his house, but it is too narrow to be practical so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had verified with both the shop and the council that he would avoid receiving a ticket.

"I'd finally felt like I was getting somewhere, I had a reliable small vehicle that was economical and simple to keep on the road. It meant I could finally focus on trying to put money aside to take my daughter on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Event and Aftermath

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

It is thought the hole may be an unfortunate legacy of a historic local mine, a disused mining site.

McKenzie thought he would be separated from his car for a few days. But days have now turned into weeks.

A Possible Resolution

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

The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is probably to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can say their vehicle was eaten by the Earth itself," McKenzie noted.

Council Statement

A spokesperson from the local council said it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it added: "This collapse did not happen on public property. We have secured the location and advised the car owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the fence to allow him to recover the vehicle.

"As the land is unregistered, our safety measures will remain in place until land ownership has been established, and we will persist to observe the vicinity to ensure everyone's security."