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The initial indication Malcolm McKenzie received of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his door and informed him his cherished Mini had fallen into a hole.

"I went out expecting a minor dip under a tire or something similar. But when I walked out to take a look, I understood, oh, that really is a proper hole," he explained.

His automobile had dropped into a 3-metre wide gap, likely caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to determine how to retrieve his car.

The Main Issue: Unregistered Property

The complication is that the property isn't registered. The local council has said it can't remove the fences blocking off the hole until land ownership had been confirmed. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance creative. "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 useful so he started leaving his car outside a nearby bakery. He had checked with both the shop and the local authority that he would avoid receiving a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a reliable small vehicle that was fuel-efficient and simple to keep on the road. It meant I could at last focus on trying to save up to take my child on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Consequences

Then came that loud rapping on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door 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 collapse. The highways people came out, erected the fence up, and then they returned and placed a second fence up around it as well."

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

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

A Possible Solution

An end may be in sight. The council has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the barriers to permit the car to be recovered. He said: "They have agreed to work with my insurance company's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an acceptable way of extracting it that doesn't put anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini met its end in style – not everyone can claim their vehicle was eaten by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Council Response

A spokesperson from the local council expressed it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on council land. We have made the area safe and advised the car owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the fence to allow him to retrieve the car.

"Since no one owns the land, our safety measures will remain in place until land ownership has been determined, and we will continue to observe the vicinity to ensure public safety."