The first sign the local man had of his situation was when a person living nearby loudly knocked on his front door and told him his cherished Mini had plunged into a hole.
"I stepped outside anticipating a small pothole under a wheel or something like that. But when I went out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a proper hole," he stated.
His automobile had descended into a 10-foot wide opening, likely caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic "nightmare" trying to determine how to retrieve his Mini.
The Main Problem: Unclaimed Property
The complication is that the land has no registered owner. The authorities has said it won't take down the barriers cordoning 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 resided in the neighborhood in Redruth for about a decade and in fact has a parking space next to his house, but it is too narrow to be useful so he started leaving his car outside a local bakery. He had checked with both the bakery and the local authority that he would avoid receiving a ticket.
"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a reliable 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 aspirational journey to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."
The Incident and Aftermath
Then came that knock on the door on a Saturday in November. "The person next door was quite panicked. The police arrived and secured the zone off. We all had to remain in the homes because we couldn't leave without going past the hole. The highways people arrived, erected the fence up, and then they came out and put a additional barrier up surrounding it as well."
It is thought the hole may be an unlucky remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a abandoned mining site.
McKenzie believed he would be separated from his vehicle for a few days. But days have now turned into weeks.
A Possible Resolution
An conclusion may be in sight. The council has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the barriers to permit the car to be removed. He commented: "They are willing to assist my insurer's retrieval crew and try to schedule a date and an suitable way of getting it out that ensures no anybody at danger."
The vehicle has been badly damaged and is probably to be written off. "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 ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.
Authority Statement
A spokesperson from the local council expressed it felt sorry with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on council land. We have secured the location and advised the car owner that we will organize to temporarily remove the barrier to enable him to recover the vehicle.
"Since no one owns the land, our safety measures will remain in place until land ownership has been determined, and we will continue to monitor the vicinity to ensure public safety."
