A Florida man’s quick response after his mother-in-law’s neighbor allegedly cut down a row of beautiful palm trees separating their properties has spread like wildfire on social media.

Nick O’Brien has documented the ongoing dispute in a series of videos on his TikTok account. In the first, he says the “shitty” neighbor cut down the mature palm trees that formed a privacy hedge between the two houses.

And he documented his rapid response to the incident – which included building a 20-metre-high wall – in a series of videos. The saga has now been seen by more than 20 million people.

In a video that has been viewed an incredible 7 million times, the caption reads: “My father-in-law planted these palm trees 25 years ago for privacy. The neighbor had them all cut down.”

“When I got there, there were only two trees left. We called the police and they made him stop.”

“Two days later, I showed up with the first 48-foot planter box to build a wall. After numerous arguments with the neighbor and the Homeowners Association (HOA) board, we got the boxes approved by the HOA.

The Floridean continued, “The neighbors were thrilled with the 8 a.m. soil delivery! I stained the boxes, filled them completely with soil and added irrigation.

In another video that has been viewed 2.2 million times, Nick said: “After numerous arguments with the neighbor, he installed a camera and pointed it directly at my mom’s front door. So we put up more boxes to block his camera.”

He says: “My mother-in-law has her privacy back. I just hope my father-in-law would be proud.”

Commenting on the video, Polyvinyl_Vibes said: “Cutting down all those beautiful palm trees… Why wouldn’t the neighbor want just as much privacy? People are so petty and pathetic!”

Others urged the family to take legal action against their neighbor and demand compensation. Lex posted: “We got $75,000 PER tree if my neighbor cuts down ours. They need to sue immediately.”

And 333agin said, “Dude, you’re going to have to get a lawyer about the trees. That’s probably going to cost $50,000.”