The first indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his situation was when a neighbor loudly knocked on his front door and told him his beloved Mini had fallen into a hole.
"I stepped outside anticipating a minor dip under a wheel or something like that. But when I walked out to take a look, I understood, oh, that truly is a proper hole," he explained.
His automobile had descended into a 3-metre wide gap, possibly created by a collapsed mine shaft, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to figure out how to extricate his car.
The Main Problem: Unclaimed Land
The hitch is that the property isn't registered. The authorities has stated it can't remove the fences blocking off the hole until land ownership had been confirmed. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed creative. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."
McKenzie has lived in the area in Redruth for about a decade and in fact has a designated spot 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 council that he would avoid receiving a parking fine.
"I'd finally felt like I was making progress, I had a dependable small vehicle that was economical and easy to keep on the road. It signified I could at last focus on trying to put money aside to take my child on her aspirational journey to Japan one day. She's constantly dreamed to go."
The Incident and Aftermath
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 can't get out without going past the hole. The highways people came out, put the fence up, and then they returned and placed a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."
It is believed the hole may be an unlucky legacy of a historic local mine, a disused mining site.
McKenzie thought he would be separated from his car for a short period. But that short time have now turned into weeks.
A Potential Solution
An conclusion may be approaching. The authorities has said it will cooperate with McKenzie to – briefly – lift the barriers to permit the car to be removed. He said: "They are willing to work with my insurance company's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an acceptable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at danger."
The vehicle has been significantly harmed and is probably to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can say their vehicle was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie remarked.
Council Statement
A representative from the authorities expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "The ground giving way did not happen on public property. We have made the area safe and advised the vehicle owner that we will arrange to lift the barrier to allow 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 continue to observe the surrounding area to guarantee everyone's security."
