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The initial sign Malcolm McKenzie had of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his door and told him his cherished Mini had plunged into a opening.

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

His automobile had dropped into a 10-foot wide opening, likely created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to retrieve his Mini.

The Main Issue: Unclaimed Land

The hitch is that the property has no registered owner. The local council has said it won't take down the fences blocking off the hole 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 neighborhood in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a parking space next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be useful so he began parking outside a nearby bakery. He had checked with both the shop 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 reliable small vehicle 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 child on her dream trip to Japan one day. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Event and Aftermath

Then came that knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The officers turned up and closed the zone off. We all had to remain in the homes because we couldn't leave without passing by the hole. The highways people arrived, erected the barrier up, and then they came out and put a additional barrier up around it as well."

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

McKenzie believed he would be separated from his car for a few days. But that short time have now become weeks.

A Potential Solution

An end may be approaching. The authorities has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the fences to permit the Mini to be removed. He commented: "They have agreed to assist my insurance company's recovery team and try to schedule a date and an acceptable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at danger."

The car has been badly damaged and is likely to be written off. "At least I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can say their car was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie noted.

Authority Response

A representative from the authorities expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on public property. We have secured the location and advised the vehicle owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the barrier to allow him to retrieve the vehicle.

"Since no one owns the land, our safety measures will remain in place until property ownership has been determined, and we will continue to observe the surrounding area to ensure everyone's security."