A couple have finally won a five-year-long dispute with their neighbours over towering trees which they claim blocked sunlight from reaching their home.
Keith and Julie Smith, who have lived in their Edinburgh home for more than 40 years, took action against their neighbours after their cypress trees planted along a shared fence grew too tall.
Keith described the trees as having created a "green wall" which stopped sunlight reaching the couple's garden and windows of their property, according to the MailOnline.
The Smiths contacted Edinburgh City Council in a bid to have the trees cut down but their request was turned down.
The Scottish Government said the trees need to be cut down to 8.5ft (Stock Image)
| GETTYThe couple then escalated their case to the Scottish Government who ruled all the trees must all be reduced to 8.5ft despite attempts by neighbours to keep one at its current height.
The trees are set to be lowered to the new height later this year.
The dispute began when neighbours David Hunter and Niena Hunter Mistry planted cypress trees that subsequently grew to considerable heights along the boundary fence.
This barrier blocked sunlight from reaching both the Smiths' garden and their home's windows, which Keith characterised as a "huge intrusion" unsuitable for adjacent properties.
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The couple revealed the ongoing dispute had become "a thorn in their side" and had significantly affected their mental wellbeing throughout the five-year ordeal.
A number of officials conducted numerous inspections of both gardens.
According to Edinburgh City Council regulations, any hedge exceeding 6.6 feet in height qualifies as a "high hedge" that could adversely affect neighbouring residents.
The Hunters requested permission to maintain one tree at its current height, but the Scottish Government ruling mandated all trees be reduced to the specified 8.5-foot limit.
At the heart of the dispute is a boundary hedge (stock image)
| GETTYThe couple documented their ordeal in a submission to the Government, stating: "The cost to the public purse must be considerable in terms of government, council and police resources."
They added: "We, the Smiths, have suffered hugely financially, emotionally and physically by this process and sincerely hope, this will now lead to resolution."
Keith, who worked for the local authority for 38 years, said he was cautious about the matter's conclusion.
He noted there had been numerous "false dawns" throughout the lengthy process.