🔗 Share this article

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

"I went out anticipating a minor dip under a tire or something like that. But when I walked out to take a look, I understood, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he explained.

His automobile had descended into a 10-foot wide gap, likely caused by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "difficult situation" trying to determine how to retrieve his car.

The Core Issue: Unclaimed Land

The hitch is that the land isn't registered. The local council has stated it won't take down the fences blocking off the sinkhole until land ownership had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed creative. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a parking space next to his house, but it is too narrow to be practical so he started leaving his car outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the bakery and the council that he would avoid receiving a ticket.

"I had finally reached a point like I was making progress, I had a dependable small vehicle that was economical and easy to keep on the road. It meant I could finally focus on trying to save up to take my daughter on her aspirational journey to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Incident and Aftermath

Then came that knock on the door on Saturday 1 November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The officers turned up and secured the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we can't get out without passing by the hole. The road crew came out, put the barrier up, and then they came out and put a second fence up surrounding it as well."

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

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

A Possible Resolution

An conclusion may be approaching. The authorities has said it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the fences to allow the Mini to be recovered. He commented: "They are willing to assist my insurer's retrieval crew and try to schedule a day and an acceptable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "On the bright side I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can say their car was eaten by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Statement

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

"Since no one owns the land, our barriers will stay up until land ownership has been established, and we will continue to monitor the vicinity to guarantee everyone's security."