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The first indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his situation was when a person living nearby loudly knocked on his door and informed him his cherished Mini had plunged into a opening.

"I went out anticipating a minor dip under a wheel or something like that. But when I walked out to check it out, I understood, oh, that truly is a significant cavity," he stated.

His vehicle had descended into a 3-metre wide gap, likely caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days caught in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to retrieve his car.

The Main Issue: Unclaimed Property

The hitch is that the land isn't registered. The authorities has said it can't remove the barriers blocking off the hole until property rights had been established. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the area 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 verified with both the shop and the council that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"I'd finally felt like I was getting somewhere, I had a dependable little car that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It signified I could at last focus on trying to save up to take my child on her aspirational journey to Japan one day. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Event and Aftermath

Then arrived that knock on the door on a Saturday in November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The officers arrived and secured the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we can't get out without passing by the hole. The road crew came out, put the barrier up, and then they came out and put a second fence up surrounding it as well."

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

McKenzie thought he would be without his car for a few days. But that short time have now become weeks.

A Potential Resolution

An conclusion may be approaching. The authorities has said it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the fences to allow the car to be recovered. He commented: "They have agreed to work with my insurance company's recovery team and try to schedule a date and an suitable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been badly damaged and is likely to be written off. "On the bright side I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can say their car was eaten by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Response

A spokesperson from the local council expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "The ground giving way did not happen on public property. We have made the area safe and informed the vehicle owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the barrier to enable him to recover the vehicle.

"Since no one owns the land, our barriers will stay up until property ownership has been established, and we will continue to monitor the surrounding area to ensure everyone's security."