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The first indication the local man had of his situation was when a person living nearby urgently banged on his door and informed him his beloved 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 really is a significant cavity," he stated.

His automobile had descended into a 3-metre wide opening, likely created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a bureaucratic "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Core Issue: Unregistered Land

The hitch is that the land isn't registered. The local council has stated it won't take down the fences blocking off the hole until land ownership had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance creative. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has lived in the area in Redruth for about a decade and actually 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 local bakery. He had checked with both the shop and the local authority that he would avoid receiving a ticket.

"I'd finally felt like I was making progress, I had a reliable 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 dream trip to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Incident and Aftermath

Then came that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The officers arrived and secured the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we couldn't leave without going past the hole. The highways people came out, erected the fence up, and then they came out and placed a additional barrier up around it as well."

It is thought the hole may be an unfortunate remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a disused copper and tin mine.

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

A Potential Resolution

An end may be approaching. The authorities has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the barriers to permit the Mini to be recovered. He said: "They are willing to assist my insurer's recovery team and try to schedule a date and an acceptable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been badly damaged and is likely to be declared a total loss. "On the bright side I can say my Mini met its end in style – not everyone can say their vehicle was eaten by the Earth itself," McKenzie noted.

Council Response

A spokesperson from the local council expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not happen on council land. We have made the area safe and advised the vehicle owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the barrier to allow him to recover the vehicle.

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