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The initial sign the local man had of his predicament was when a neighbor urgently banged on his door and told 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 walked out to take a look, I realized, oh, that truly is a significant cavity," he explained.

His automobile had dropped into a 10-foot wide opening, likely caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his Mini.

The Main Issue: Unclaimed Land

The complication is that the land isn't registered. The local council has stated it won't take down the barriers cordoning off the hole until land ownership had been established. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed creative. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has lived in the neighborhood in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot beside his house, but it is not wide enough to be useful so he started leaving his car 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 making progress, I had a dependable little car that was economical and easy to keep on the road. It meant 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 Aftermath

Then arrived that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The officers turned up and closed the area off. We all had to stay in the houses because we couldn't leave without going past the hole. The highways people arrived, erected the fence up, and then they returned and put a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."

It is believed the hole may be an unlucky legacy of Pednandrea Mine, a abandoned mining site.

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

A Possible Solution

An conclusion may be in sight. The authorities has said it will work with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the barriers to allow the Mini to be recovered. He commented: "They have agreed to assist my insurance company's retrieval crew and try to schedule a day and an suitable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at risk."

The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini met its end in style – not everyone can claim their car was eaten by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.

Council Response

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

"As the land is unregistered, our barriers will stay up until land ownership has been established, and we will continue to observe the surrounding area to ensure public safety."