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The first sign Malcolm McKenzie had of his situation was when a neighbor urgently banged on his door and told him his cherished Mini had plunged into a opening.

"I went out anticipating a small pothole under a wheel or something similar. But when I went out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a proper hole," he stated.

His automobile had dropped into a 10-foot wide gap, possibly caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Main Issue: Unregistered Property

The complication is that the land isn't registered. The authorities has stated it can't remove the fences blocking off the hole until land ownership had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has lived in the neighborhood in Redruth for about 10 years and actually has a parking space next to his house, but it is too narrow to be useful so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had verified with both the shop 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 meant I could at last focus on trying to put money aside to take my daughter on her aspirational journey to Japan one day. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Consequences

Then arrived that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The police turned up and closed the zone off. We all had to stay in the homes because we couldn't leave without passing by the collapse. The highways people arrived, put the fence up, and then they came out and put a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

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

McKenzie thought he would be separated from his vehicle for a few days. But that short time have now turned into weeks.

A Potential Resolution

An end may be approaching. The council has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the barriers to allow the Mini to be removed. He commented: "They are willing to work with my insurance company's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been badly damaged and is probably to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in a memorable way – not everyone can say their car was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie noted.

Authority Statement

A representative from the authorities said it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on public property. We have made the area safe and advised the car owner that we will organize to lift the fence to allow him to recover the car.

"Since no one owns the land, our safety measures will stay up until land ownership has been established, and we will continue to monitor the vicinity to ensure public safety."