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Horror as grandad falls down 30ft sinkhole at UK holiday park

The 62-year-old who cannot swim fell into water below the ground while emergency services raced to the scene

[Emergency services are responding to an incident in an outdoor area. A fire truck is parked on the road with caution tape around it, indicating an active emergency. A white SUV and a caravan are parked nearby, and a person stands near the caravan. In the background, there are several trees, suggesting the incident occurred in a park or a campground.]

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The scenes at the holiday park in Cornwall(Image: Ian Haynes)

A former miner has had a remarkable escape after plummeting 30ft through a sinkhole that opened up beneath his parked vehicle at a holiday park in Cornwall.

Ian Haynes, 62, believed his life was over when the ground collapsed under him during his July holiday, sending him tumbling what he estimated was roughly four storeys into water below - while his car remained dangerously suspended overhead.

The grandfather from Nottinghamshire, who previously worked down the mines, endured approximately 55 minutes while a team exceeding 60 emergency services personnel worked urgently to stabilise the area and extract him without triggering a further collapse.

What started as a modest, pothole-sized crater where the wheel of Ian's BMW sat quickly transformed into a massive void. Within 24 hours, it had grown to the size of a vehicle.

"I thought, 'you're gone, mate, your time is over'," Ian tells CornwallLive of the three seconds he estimates he was falling, reports Cornwall Live.

"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.

[Several individuals dressed in various protective gear and uniforms are gathered in an outdoor setting, with emergency vehicles and personnel present, indicating a potential emergency or training scenario.]

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(Image: Ian Haynes)

"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 tragedy 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, while standing close to his vehicle and the hole awaiting their arrival, it collapsed and he plummeted what he estimates was closer to 100 to 140ft through the sinkhole into water, though the fire service reports 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, various thoughts flooded his mind, including concerns about whether his vehicle or others might fall on top of him.

[An outdoor construction site features a substantial hole in the center, encircled by a temporary metal fence. The backdrop includes a sloped hill with sparse vegetation, and the sky appears overcast.]

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"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 position a ladder across the hole to prevent the rope from touching the shaft edges, warning it would have collapsed otherwise.

"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 escaped with minimal physical injuries, suffering only bruising and cuts, though he acknowledges the psychological scars will take considerably longer to heal, as he continues to battle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the incident.

Despite the harrowing ordeal, he maintains that the park handled the situation as well as possible, with staff proving "incredibly caring and concerned" for his wellbeing.

"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."

[A close-up view of a vehicle's tire partially submerged in a pothole on a gravel road. The pothole's depth and the vehicle's tire are prominently featured, highlighting the need for road maintenance.]

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(Image: Ian Haynes)

Devon and Cornwall Police said: "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 said: "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 spokesperson 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."

They continued: "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 spokesperson added: "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."

[An image displaying a close-up of a forearm with a visible tattoo, against a blurred background featuring a room's interior with a cabinet and a window.]

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(Image: Ian Haynes)

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