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The initial indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his situation was when a person living nearby urgently banged on his front door and told him his beloved Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I stepped outside anticipating a small pothole under a tire or something like that. But when I walked out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he stated.

His vehicle had descended into a 10-foot wide gap, possibly created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "difficult situation" trying to determine how to retrieve his car.

The Main Problem: Unclaimed Land

The complication is that the property has no registered owner. The authorities has stated it can't remove the barriers cordoning off the sinkhole until land ownership had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance designer. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be useful so he began parking outside a nearby bakery. He had checked with both the shop and the local authority that he would avoid receiving a ticket.

"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a dependable little car that was fuel-efficient and simple to keep on the road. It signified I could at last 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 officers arrived and closed the area off. We all had to remain in the houses because we can't get out without passing by the hole. The highways people came out, put the fence up, and then they returned and put a additional barrier up around it as well."

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

McKenzie thought he would be separated from his vehicle for a few days. But days have now become weeks.

A Possible Solution

An conclusion may be in sight. The authorities has said it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the barriers to permit the Mini to be removed. He commented: "They are willing to work with my insurer's recovery team and try to arrange a day and an suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been badly damaged and is likely to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in a memorable way – not everyone can claim their vehicle was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie noted.

Authority Statement

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

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