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The first sign the local man had of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his front door and informed him his beloved Mini had fallen into a opening.

"I went out expecting a small pothole under a tire or something like that. But when I went out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a proper hole," he explained.

His vehicle had descended into a 3-metre wide gap, likely created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Main Issue: Unclaimed Land

The hitch is that the land isn't registered. The local council has said it can't remove the barriers blocking off the sinkhole until land ownership 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 neighborhood in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot next to his house, but it is not wide enough to be useful so he began parking outside a local bakery. He had verified with both the shop and the council that he wouldn't get a parking fine.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a dependable little car that was fuel-efficient and easy to keep on the road. It meant I could finally 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 knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The officers arrived and closed the zone off. We all had to stay in the houses because we couldn't leave without passing by the collapse. The highways people came out, erected the fence up, and then they returned and put a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

It is thought the opening may be an unlucky remnant of a historic local mine, a abandoned copper and tin mine.

McKenzie thought he would be without his car for a few days. But days have now turned into weeks.

A Potential Resolution

An conclusion may be in sight. The council has stated it will cooperate with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the barriers to permit the car to be removed. He said: "They are willing to work with my insurance company's retrieval crew and try to schedule a date and an acceptable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at danger."

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 a memorable way – not everyone can claim their vehicle was eaten by the Earth itself," McKenzie noted.

Council Statement

A spokesperson from the authorities expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it added: "The ground giving way did not occur on public property. We have made the area safe and informed the car owner that we will arrange to temporarily remove the barrier to enable him to retrieve the vehicle.

"As the land is unregistered, our barriers will remain in place until land ownership has been determined, and we will persist to observe the vicinity to ensure everyone's security."