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The initial indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his predicament was when a neighbor loudly knocked on his door and informed him his beloved Mini had fallen into a hole.

"I went out anticipating a small pothole under a wheel or something similar. But when I went out to check it out, I understood, oh, that really 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 extricate his Mini.

The Main Problem: Unregistered Property

The complication is that the property isn't registered. The local council has said it won't take down the barriers blocking off the hole until property rights had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance designer. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."

McKenzie has lived in the neighborhood in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a parking space next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be practical so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had verified with both the bakery and the local authority that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"I'd finally felt like I was getting somewhere, I had a dependable small vehicle that was fuel-efficient and easy 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 Incident and Consequences

Then came that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The officers turned up and secured the area off. We all had to remain in the houses because we couldn't leave without going past the collapse. The highways people arrived, put the barrier up, and then they returned and put a second fence up surrounding it as well."

It is believed the hole may be an unfortunate legacy of a historic local mine, a abandoned copper and tin mine.

McKenzie thought he would be without his vehicle for a short period. But days have now become weeks.

A Potential Resolution

An conclusion may be in sight. The authorities has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the fences to permit the car to be recovered. He said: "They have agreed to work with my insurer's recovery team and try to schedule a date and an suitable way of getting it out that doesn't put anybody at danger."

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

Council Response

A representative from the local council expressed it sympathised with McKenzie. But it added: "This collapse did not occur on public property. We have made the area safe and advised the vehicle owner that we will arrange to lift the fence to allow him to retrieve the car.

"As the land is unregistered, our barriers will remain in place until land ownership has been determined, and we will persist to monitor the vicinity to ensure public safety."