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The initial sign Malcolm McKenzie had of his situation was when a neighbor loudly knocked on his door and told him his beloved Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I stepped outside expecting a small pothole under a wheel or something similar. But when I walked out to check it out, I realized, oh, that truly is a significant cavity," he stated.

His vehicle had dropped into a 10-foot wide gap, possibly created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to determine how to retrieve his Mini.

The Main Problem: Unclaimed Land

The complication is that the land isn't registered. The local council has stated it can't remove the barriers blocking off the hole until land ownership 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 neighborhood in Redruth for about a decade and actually has a parking space next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be practical so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the bakery and the council that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a dependable little car that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It signified I could finally focus on trying to put money aside to take my daughter on her aspirational journey to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Event and Consequences

Then arrived that knock on the door on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The police arrived and secured the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we couldn't leave without passing by the collapse. The road crew came out, erected the barrier up, and then they came out and put a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

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

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

A Potential Resolution

An end may be approaching. The authorities has stated it will work with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the fences to permit the Mini to be recovered. He said: "They are willing to assist my insurance company's recovery team and try to arrange a day and an suitable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at danger."

The vehicle has been badly damaged and is probably to be written off. "At least I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can claim their vehicle was eaten by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Council Response

A representative from the local council expressed 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 lift the barrier to enable him to recover the vehicle.

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