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The initial indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his predicament was when a person living nearby loudly knocked on his front door and informed him his beloved Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I stepped outside expecting a small pothole under a wheel or something similar. But when I walked out to check it out, I understood, oh, that really is a proper hole," he explained.

His vehicle had dropped into a 3-metre wide opening, possibly created 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 Core Problem: Unregistered Property

The complication is that the property isn't registered. The authorities has said it won't take down the fences cordoning 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 neighborhood in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot next to his house, but it is too narrow 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 dependable little car that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It signified I could finally focus on trying to put money aside to take my child on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Aftermath

Then arrived that loud rapping on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The police turned up and secured the zone off. We all had to remain in the homes because we can't get out without passing by the hole. The highways people came out, put the fence 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 remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a disused mining site.

McKenzie believed he would be without his vehicle for a short period. But days have now turned into weeks.

A Possible Resolution

An end may be in sight. The council has said it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the barriers to permit the Mini to be removed. He said: "They have agreed to work with my insurer's recovery team and try to arrange a day and an suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is probably to be written off. "On the bright side I can say my Mini met its end in style – not everyone can claim their vehicle was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie noted.

Council Response

A representative from the authorities expressed it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not happen on public property. We have made the area safe and informed the car owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the fence to enable him to retrieve the car.

"Since no one owns the land, our barriers will remain in place until land ownership has been established, and we will continue to monitor the vicinity to guarantee public safety."