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The first sign the local man had of his situation was when a neighbor urgently banged on his front door and told him his cherished Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I went out anticipating a minor dip under a tire or something like that. But when I went out to check it out, I understood, oh, that truly is a significant cavity," he explained.

His automobile had descended into a 10-foot wide opening, likely caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Main Problem: Unclaimed Land

The complication is that the property isn't registered. The authorities has stated it can't remove the barriers blocking off the sinkhole until land ownership had been confirmed. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and actually has a designated spot beside 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 shop and the council that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"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 signified I could finally focus on trying to save up to take my child on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Event and Aftermath

Then arrived that knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The officers 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 fence up, and then they came out and placed a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

It is believed the hole may be an unfortunate remnant of a historic local mine, a abandoned copper and tin mine.

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

A Potential Solution

An conclusion may be approaching. The council has said it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the fences to allow the Mini to be removed. He commented: "They have agreed to work with my insurer's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an suitable way of extracting it that doesn't put anybody at danger."

The car has been badly damaged and is probably to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can claim their car was eaten by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.

Council Response

A spokesperson from the local council expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "The ground giving way did not happen on council land. We have made the area safe and informed the vehicle owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the barrier to enable him to retrieve the vehicle.

"As the land is unregistered, our safety measures will remain in place until property ownership has been determined, and we will persist to monitor the surrounding area to ensure public safety."