Redruth Man Loses Car in Mysterious Sinkhole

The first indication Malcolm McKenzie had of his situation was when a neighbor urgently banged on his front door and informed him his beloved Mini had plunged into a opening.

"I went out expecting a minor dip under a wheel or something like that. But when I went out to take a look, I realized, oh, that really is a significant cavity," he explained.

His automobile had descended into a 10-foot wide gap, possibly created by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days caught in a administrative "nightmare" trying to determine how to retrieve his Mini.

The Main Problem: Unclaimed Property

The hitch is that the property isn't registered. The local council has said it can't remove the barriers cordoning off the sinkhole until land ownership had been established. "It's quite a difficult situation," said McKenzie, 36, a freelance creative. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has resided in the area in Redruth for about 10 years and actually has a parking space next to his house, but it is not wide enough 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 wouldn't get a ticket.

"I had finally reached a point like I was getting somewhere, I had a reliable small vehicle that was fuel-efficient 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 someday. She's always wanted to go."

The Incident and Consequences

Then arrived that loud rapping on a Saturday in November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The police arrived and closed the zone off. We all had to remain in the houses because we couldn't leave without passing by the collapse. The highways people came out, put the barrier up, and then they came out and put a additional barrier up around it as well."

It is believed the hole may be an unfortunate remnant of Pednandrea Mine, a disused mining site.

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

A Potential Resolution

An end may be in sight. The authorities has stated it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – remove the barriers to allow the Mini to be recovered. He commented: "They are willing to assist my insurer's recovery team and try to schedule a day and an acceptable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been significantly harmed and is likely to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini went out in a memorable way – not everyone can claim their car was swallowed by the Earth itself," McKenzie noted.

Authority Statement

A spokesperson from the local council 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 informed the car owner that we will organize to lift the fence to allow him to recover the car.

"As the land is unregistered, our barriers will remain in place until property ownership has been established, and we will continue to monitor the vicinity to ensure public safety."