Malcolm McKenzie first learned of his problem when a neighbor knocked on his door and told him that his beloved Mini had fallen into a hole.
He said, “I went out expecting to find a little pothole under a wheel or something. But when I went out to look, I realised, oh, it’s actually a proper hole.”
His car fell into a 3-metre-wide open space, possibly caused by a mineshaft collapse, and McKenzie has spent 25 days stuck in a bureaucratic “nightmare” trying to work out a way to get his vehicle out.
The catch is that the land is not registered in anyone’s name. Cornwall Council has said it cannot remove the barriers surrounding the pit until ownership of the land is 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 area of Redruth for about 10 years and actually has a parking space next to his house, but it is too narrow to be useful so he started parking outside a nearby bakery. He inquired from the bakery and the council whether he would get the ticket.
He is a car enthusiast and has spent a year saving for and completing his Mini. Its rusted bonnet is a deliberate style choice – he wanted a “rat stick” look. The car passed its MOT in October, with the mechanic telling him it was the best Mini he had ever seen on his ramp.
McKenzie said: “I finally felt like I was going somewhere, I had a reliable little car that was economical and easy 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 one day. She’s always wanted to go.”
Then on Saturday 1st November there was a knock at the door. “My neighbor was pretty panicked. The police came out and cordoned off the area. We all had to stay in the house because we couldn’t get out without going across the hole. The highway guys came out, put up a fence, and then they came out and put up another fence around it too.”
It is believed that the hole may be an unfortunate legacy of the Pednandrea Mine, a disused copper and tin mine.
McKenzie thought he would be without his car for a few days. But days have now turned into weeks.
The end may be in sight. The council has said it will work with McKenzie to briefly remove the barriers to allow 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 out that puts no one at risk.”
The car is badly damaged and is likely to be destroyed. McKenzie said, “At least I can say that my Mini went spectacularly well – not everyone can claim to have their car eaten by the earth.”
A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said it sympathized with McKenzie. But it added: “This collapse did not occur on council land. We have made the area safe and have advised the car owner that we will arrange for the barrier to be lifted to enable the vehicle to be recovered.”
“As the land is unregistered, our barriers will remain in place until ownership of the land can be determined, and we will continue to monitor the surrounding area to ensure public safety.”
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