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The initial indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his door and told him his beloved Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I went out anticipating a small pothole under a tire or something like that. But when I walked out to check it out, I realized, oh, that truly is a proper hole," he stated.

His vehicle had descended into a 3-metre wide opening, likely created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a administrative "nightmare" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Core Issue: Unregistered Land

The complication is that the property has no registered owner. The authorities has stated it can't remove the fences cordoning 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 area in Redruth for about a decade and actually has a designated spot next to his house, but it is too narrow to be practical so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the bakery and the council that he would avoid receiving a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a reliable little car that was fuel-efficient and simple to keep on the road. It signified I could finally 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 Consequences

Then came that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "The person next door was very alarmed. The police turned up and closed the area off. We all had to stay in the houses because we couldn't leave without going past the hole. The highways people arrived, put the barrier up, and then they came out and put a second fence up surrounding it as well."

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

McKenzie thought he would be separated from his car for a few days. But days have now turned into weeks.

A Potential Resolution

An end may be in sight. The authorities has said it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the fences to allow the car to be removed. He commented: "They are willing to assist my insurance company's retrieval crew and try to schedule a date and an acceptable way of extracting it that doesn't put anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been badly damaged and is probably to be written off. "On the bright side I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can say their car was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.

Council Response

A spokesperson from the local council expressed it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on council land. We have secured the location and informed the car owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the barrier to allow him to retrieve the vehicle.

"Since no one owns the land, our barriers will remain in place until property ownership has been determined, and we will persist to observe the vicinity to ensure everyone's security."