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The first indication the local man received of his predicament was when a person living nearby loudly knocked on his door and told him his cherished Mini had plunged into a opening.

"I stepped outside anticipating a minor dip under a wheel or something like that. But when I walked out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a proper hole," he stated.

His vehicle had descended into a 10-foot wide opening, likely created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Main Problem: Unclaimed Land

The hitch is that the land isn't registered. The local council has said it can't remove the fences blocking off the sinkhole until land ownership had been established. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance designer. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about a decade and actually has a parking space next to his house, but it is too narrow to be useful so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had verified with both the bakery and the council that he would avoid receiving a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a reliable little car that was economical and simple to keep on the road. It signified I could at last focus on trying to save up to take my daughter on her aspirational journey to Japan one day. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Event and Consequences

Then arrived that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The officers turned up and secured the zone off. We all had to stay in the houses because we can't get out without going past the hole. The road crew arrived, erected the barrier up, and then they came out and placed a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

It is believed the hole may be an unfortunate legacy of Pednandrea Mine, a abandoned mining site.

McKenzie believed he would be separated from his vehicle for a short period. But days have now become weeks.

A Possible Resolution

An conclusion may be approaching. The council has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – remove the fences to allow the Mini to be recovered. He said: "They are willing to work with my insurance company's retrieval crew and try to schedule a date and an acceptable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at danger."

The car has been significantly harmed and is likely to be written off. "At least I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can claim their car was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie noted.

Council Statement

A spokesperson from the local council expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "The ground giving way did not occur on public property. We have secured the location and advised the car owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the fence to allow him to recover the vehicle.

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