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The initial sign Malcolm McKenzie received 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 anticipating a small pothole under a tire or something similar. But when I went out to check it out, I realized, oh, that truly is a significant cavity," he stated.

His vehicle had descended into a 3-metre wide gap, likely created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to determine how to retrieve his Mini.

The Core Problem: Unregistered Land

The hitch is that the land isn't registered. The local council has stated it won't take down the barriers blocking off the hole until land ownership had been confirmed. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the neighborhood in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot beside his house, but it is too narrow to be useful so he started leaving his car outside a local bakery. He had verified with both the shop and the local authority that he wouldn't get a ticket.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a dependable little car that was economical and simple to keep on the road. It meant I could at last focus on trying to put money aside to take my child on her aspirational journey to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Event and Consequences

Then arrived that knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The police arrived and closed the zone off. We all had to remain in the homes because we can't get out without going past the hole. The road crew arrived, put the barrier up, and then they came out and placed a second fence up surrounding it as well."

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

McKenzie thought he would be without his vehicle for a few days. But days have now turned into weeks.

A Possible Resolution

An end may be in sight. The council has said it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the barriers 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 badly damaged and is probably to be declared a total loss. "On the bright side I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can say their car was eaten by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.

Council Statement

A representative from the local council said it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not happen on public property. We have secured the location and advised the vehicle owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the barrier to enable him to recover the vehicle.

"As the land is unregistered, our barriers will remain in place until land ownership has been determined, and we will persist to monitor the vicinity to ensure everyone's security."