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The first sign the local man received of his situation was when a person living nearby urgently banged on his front door and informed him his beloved Mini had plunged into a hole.

"I stepped outside expecting a small pothole 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 explained.

His automobile had descended into a 10-foot wide opening, likely caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days caught in a administrative "nightmare" trying to determine how to extricate his car.

The Main Problem: Unclaimed Property

The complication is that the land isn't registered. The local council has stated it won't take down the barriers blocking off the hole until property rights had been confirmed. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance creative. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the area 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 bakery and the local authority 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 easy to keep on the road. It signified I could at last focus on trying to put money aside to take my child on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Event and Consequences

Then arrived that loud rapping on Saturday 1 November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The officers arrived and closed the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we couldn't leave without going past the collapse. The road crew arrived, erected the fence up, and then they came out and put a second fence up around it as well."

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

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

A Potential Solution

An end may be approaching. The authorities has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the fences to allow the Mini to be recovered. He commented: "They have agreed to assist my insurer's retrieval crew and try to arrange a date and an suitable way of getting it out that doesn't put anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been badly damaged and is likely to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini met its end in a memorable way – not everyone can say their vehicle was eaten by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Statement

A representative from the authorities said it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "The ground giving way did not occur on council land. We have made the area safe and advised the vehicle owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the fence to enable him to retrieve the car.

"As the land is unregistered, our safety measures will stay up until land ownership has been determined, and we will persist to monitor the vicinity to guarantee everyone's security."