Redruth Man Finds Vehicle in Mysterious Ground Collapse

The first sign the local man received of his situation was when a person living nearby urgently banged on his door and informed him his beloved Mini had fallen into a hole.

"I went out anticipating a minor dip under a wheel or something like that. But when I went out to take a look, I understood, oh, that truly is a proper hole," he stated.

His automobile had descended into a 10-foot wide gap, possibly caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days caught in a administrative "nightmare" trying to figure out how to retrieve his car.

The Core Problem: Unregistered Property

The complication is that the land has no registered owner. The authorities has said it can't remove the barriers blocking off the sinkhole until property rights had been confirmed. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance creative. "There's bureaucracy at every turn."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and in fact has a designated spot beside his house, but it is not wide enough to be practical so he started leaving his car outside a nearby bakery. He had verified with both the shop and the council that he wouldn't get a ticket.

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

The Event and Aftermath

Then arrived that loud rapping on Saturday 1 November. "My neighbour was quite panicked. The police arrived and secured the area off. We all had to remain in the houses because we couldn't leave without going past the hole. The road crew came out, erected the fence up, and then they returned and put a second fence up around it as well."

It is believed the opening may be an unlucky remnant of a historic local mine, a disused mining site.

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

A Potential Solution

An conclusion may be in sight. The authorities has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the fences to allow the Mini to be removed. He said: "They are willing to assist my insurer's retrieval crew and try to schedule a day and an acceptable way of extracting it that doesn't put anybody at danger."

The car has been significantly harmed and is likely to be written off. "At least I can say my Mini went out in style – not everyone can claim their vehicle was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Authority Response

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

"As the land is unregistered, our barriers will stay up until property ownership has been established, and we will continue to monitor the vicinity to guarantee public safety."