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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 beloved Mini had plunged into a opening.

"I stepped outside anticipating a small pothole under a wheel or something similar. But when I walked out to check it out, I understood, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he explained.

His vehicle had dropped into a 10-foot wide opening, possibly caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "difficult situation" trying to determine how to extricate his car.

The Core Issue: Unregistered Land

The complication is that the property has no registered owner. The authorities has said it won't take down the barriers blocking off the sinkhole until property rights had been confirmed. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance creative. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."

McKenzie has resided in the area 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 bakery and the council that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a dependable little car 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 one day. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Aftermath

Then arrived that loud rapping on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The police arrived and secured the zone off. We all had to stay in the houses because we can't get out without passing by the hole. The highways people arrived, put the fence up, and then they came out and placed a second fence up around it as well."

It is thought the opening may be an unfortunate remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a disused copper and tin mine.

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

A Potential Resolution

An conclusion may be in sight. The authorities has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the fences to permit the car to be recovered. He commented: "They have agreed to work with my insurance company's retrieval crew and try to arrange a day and an acceptable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been significantly harmed and is likely to be written off. "At least I can say my Mini went out in a memorable way – not everyone can claim their car was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie noted.

Council Response

A spokesperson from the authorities expressed it sympathised with McKenzie. But it added: "This collapse did not happen on council land. We have secured the location and advised the car owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the fence to allow him to recover the car.

"As the land is unregistered, our safety measures will remain in place until property ownership has been established, and we will continue to observe the surrounding area to guarantee public safety."