Redruth Resident Finds Vehicle in Mysterious Ground Collapse

The initial sign the local man received of his predicament was when a person living nearby loudly knocked on his door and told him his cherished 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 check it out, I understood, oh, that really is a proper hole," he stated.

His automobile had dropped into a 10-foot wide opening, likely caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has endured 25 days stuck in a administrative "difficult situation" trying to figure out how to extricate his car.

The Core Issue: Unregistered Land

The hitch is that the property isn't registered. The authorities has said it won't take down the fences cordoning off the sinkhole until land ownership had been established. "It's a bit of a nightmare," said McKenzie, 36, a self-employed designer. "It's red tape everywhere."

McKenzie has lived in the neighborhood 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 began parking outside a nearby bakery. He had checked with both the shop 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 fuel-efficient and simple to keep on the road. It meant I could at last focus on trying to put money aside to take my child on her dream trip to Japan someday. She's constantly dreamed to go."

The Event and Consequences

Then came that loud rapping on Saturday 1 November. "My neighbour was very alarmed. The police arrived and closed the area off. We all had to remain in the homes because we can't get out without passing by the collapse. The highways people arrived, erected the barrier up, and then they returned and placed a second fence up surrounding it as well."

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

McKenzie believed he would be without his vehicle for a short period. But that short time have now turned into weeks.

A Possible Solution

An conclusion may be in sight. The council has said it will work with McKenzie to – temporarily – lift the barriers to allow the car to be recovered. He commented: "They are willing to work with my insurer's recovery team and try to arrange a date and an suitable way of extracting it that ensures no anybody at risk."

The car has been significantly harmed and is probably to be declared a total loss. "At least I can say my Mini met its end in style – not everyone can say their vehicle was swallowed by the ground beneath them," McKenzie remarked.

Council Statement

A representative from the local council said it sympathised with McKenzie. But it said: "This collapse did not occur on public property. We have made the area safe and informed the vehicle owner that we will arrange to lift the fence to enable him to retrieve the vehicle.

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