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The initial indication the local man received of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his door and told him his cherished Mini had fallen into a hole.

"I stepped outside anticipating a minor dip under a tire or something similar. But when I went out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he explained.

His vehicle had descended into a 10-foot wide gap, likely created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to determine how to extricate his Mini.

The Main Issue: Unclaimed Property

The hitch is that the land has no registered owner. 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 freelance designer. "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 too narrow to be practical so he started leaving his car outside a nearby bakery. He had checked with both the bakery and the local authority that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a dependable small vehicle that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It meant I could finally focus on trying to save up to take my daughter on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Incident and Consequences

Then came that knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door was very alarmed. The police turned up and secured the zone off. We all had to remain in the houses because we couldn't leave without going past the collapse. The highways people arrived, erected the barrier up, and then they returned and put a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

It is thought the hole may be an unfortunate remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a disused mining site.

McKenzie believed he would be without his car for a short period. But days have now turned into weeks.

A Potential Resolution

An conclusion may be in sight. The council has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the barriers to permit the car to be removed. He said: "They are willing to assist my insurer's retrieval crew and try to schedule a day and an suitable way of extracting it that doesn't put anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is likely to be written off. "At least I can say my Mini went out in a memorable way – not everyone can say their car was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Council Statement

A spokesperson from the local council said it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "The ground giving way did not occur on public property. We have secured the location and informed the vehicle owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the barrier to enable him to recover the car.

"As the land is unregistered, our safety measures will remain in place until land ownership has been determined, and we will persist to observe the vicinity to guarantee public safety."