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The initial indication the local man received of his situation was when a neighbor urgently banged on his front door and told him his beloved Mini had plunged into a opening.

"I went out expecting a small pothole under a tire or something like that. But when I walked out to take a look, I understood, oh, that truly is a significant cavity," he stated.

His vehicle had dropped into a 10-foot wide opening, likely created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to figure out how to retrieve his car.

The Main Problem: Unregistered Land

The hitch is that the property isn't registered. The authorities has stated it won't take down the fences cordoning 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 lived in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot next to 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 bakery and the local authority that he would avoid receiving a ticket.

"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a reliable small vehicle that was economical and easy 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 one day. She's always wanted to go."

The Event and Aftermath

Then came that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The police arrived and secured the zone off. We all had to stay in the homes because we couldn't leave without passing by the hole. The road crew arrived, erected the barrier up, and then they returned and placed a second fence up around it as well."

It is believed the hole may be an unfortunate remnant of a historic local mine, a abandoned mining site.

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

A Possible Resolution

An end may be in sight. The authorities has said it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the fences to permit the Mini to be removed. He commented: "They are willing to assist my insurer's retrieval crew and try to schedule a date and an suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at danger."

The car has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "On the bright side I can say my Mini went out in a memorable way – not everyone can claim their vehicle was eaten by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Statement

A spokesperson from the authorities said it sympathised with McKenzie. But it added: "This collapse did not happen on public property. We have made the area safe and informed the car owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the barrier to allow him to retrieve the car.

"As the land is unregistered, our safety measures will stay up until land ownership has been established, and we will persist to observe the surrounding area to ensure public safety."