A B.C. small claims court judge has ordered a couple in North Vancouver to pay $25,000 for poisoning their neighbours' 60-year-old red cedar tree.

According to court documents, Gisell and Alfred Jakob drilled holes in the trunk of the 20-metre tree and applied a toxic substance, which caused it to slowly die.

"They intentionally destroyed property of their neighbour," said Judge Joanne Challenger in her decision.

"The property destroyed was a living organism with inherent value to the surrounding ecosystem. It is property that only the passage of many decades could replace."

The judgment says the Jakobs wanted the tree down because it cast a shadow on their backyard pool.

According to a court judgment, the Jakobs wanted the tree (right side of the pool) down because it shaded their pool area. (Google Maps)

Ian Bowbrick, the neighbour whose tree was poisoned, says the mature evergreen was a pleasant focal point in their backyard and part of the ecosystem of the neighbouring park.

"You don't expect neighbours to do things like that to you," Bowbrick said.

''We shared vegetables out of our garden with them, we chatted over the fence. To have them do something like that to you, it's kind of a slap in the face."

In her decision, Challenger said the Bowbricks' sense of quiet enjoyment on their property was impacted.

"I think it apt to describe their feelings as a breach of 'neighbourly trust,'" said Challenger.

Challenger initially found damages over $31,000 should be awarded for the value of the tree, along with punitive damages of $7,500, but that was in excess of the limit allowed for the court's jurisdiction.

"I think the punitive damages send a message to people that you just can't do these things, and if you do it's going to cost you," said Bowbrick.

Bowbrick says the top of the tree is now dead, and branches on one side of it continue to fall off. He says it will likely be cut down in the winter following nesting season.