Man ‘swallowed’ by sinkhole at UK vacation park as 60 emergency staff swarm scene

Ian Haynes, 62, was on holiday at a Cornwall campsite when the ground collapsed beneath him and he plunged 30ft into water below – while his car remained precariously balanced above the gaping hole

A former miner narrowly escaped death after plummeting 30ft through a sinkhole that opened up beneath his parked car at a Cornwall holiday park.

Ian Haynes, 62, was convinced his time was up when the ground collapsed under him during his July holiday, sending him tumbling what felt like roughly four storeys into water below – while his vehicle remained dangerously suspended overhead.

The Nottinghamshire grandfather and ex-miner endured approximately 55 minutes in the hole as more than 60 emergency service workers raced to stabilise the area and extract him safely without triggering further collapse. What started as a modest, pothole-sized crater where Ian’s BMW wheel was positioned quickly became a yawning chasm. Within 24 hours it had grown to the size of a car.

“I thought, ‘you’re gone, mate, your time is over’,” Ian tells CornwallLive about the three seconds he believes he spent falling. “I was near the door [of the car] and I just went through the concrete. You can imagine, I’m going down a hole, looking up and seeing a car wheel above my head and this hole is getting smaller and smaller.

“My grandchildren were playing in that spot while we were on holiday and the caravan next door to us was two retired old ladies who had to walk past that spot to go to the toilet every day,” he added. “I’m still suffering and at 4am I’m jumping out of bed and feeling like I’m falling down the hole again.”

Ian had been on holiday for nearly a fortnight at Higher Trevaskis Caravan and Camping Park, in Connor Downs, near Hayle, when disaster struck.

Set to depart the following day, he’d positioned his vehicle in the identical spot he’d used for the previous two weeks and observed the front of his car had “dropped down”.

He contacted the site owner to come and examine the situation and, as he stood close to his vehicle and the hole, waiting, it collapsed and he plummeted what he believes was more like 100 to 140ft through the sinkhole and into water, although the fire service says it was 30ft.

“I can’t swim,” said Ian, a former miner. “But I landed in water and managed to grab a plank of wood and pull myself to the side.”

During the following hour, thoughts rushed through his head, including whether his vehicle or anyone else might tumble down on top of him. “I knew what to do,” he said of the rescue when assistance arrived. “Their job was easy. They threw me a rope down and, like a plastic nappy on a safety harness, I knew how to fasten it and they winched me back up. “.

He even advised emergency services to place a ladder over the hole so that the rope wouldn’t touch the shaft hole edges, saying it would have collapsed had they not. “Going down the hole was only three seconds, but it felt like an hour, like I was never going to reach the bottom,” he explained.

Remarkably, he emerged with minimal physical injuries, suffering only bruising and cuts, though he admits the psychological scars will take considerably longer to mend as he continues to battle post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the incident.

Despite his harrowing experience, he also praises the park’s response, describing staff as “incredibly caring and concerned” towards him. “The next day [our friend] dropped a stone down the mineshaft and it took three seconds to hit the water,” he said.

“If you Google a stone, brick or person dropping freefall in three seconds the distance is 100 to 140 feet. I asked the fire service to measure it and for the rescue footage but they haven’t got back to me.”

Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed: “Officers attended Gwinear Road shortly after 6pm on 24 July to provide support to emergency services who were responding to a report of a man having fallen into a sinkhole. A number of people were cleared from the area for safety.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service stated: “Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service was called to Connor Downs, Hayle, on July 24 at around 6pm. Firefighters used line rescue equipment to rescue a casualty who was approximately 30ft down a sinkhole. The casualty was left in the care of the ambulance service.”

A representative for Higher Trevaskis Caravan and Camping Park stated: “We would like to thank everyone involved in the rescue and also the experts involved in making the site safe for our customers which is always our number one priority.

“An unrecorded, historical mining feature opened up in an isolated area of the park. Our emergency safety protocols were activated instantly, and the emergency services were called which lead to the rescue of a guest.

“The said guest was taken to hospital with cuts and bruises and given the all clear by the hospital, returning here soon after. Specialist engineers are already managing the permanent capping process.”

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