Tom Crawford has lived in his home in Nottinghamshire for 26 years and is currently in a dispute with Bradford & Bingley bank over his mortgage repayments.
So when the 63-year old - who has prostate cancer - was faced with what he believed to be wrongful eviction, he posted a video appeal on YouTube for help. Little did he imagine what happened next.
On Wednesday morning, 250 strangers turned up on his doorstep to support him against the baliffs that were due to evict him on Wednesday morning.
In the end, the baliffs never turned up due to safety concerns.
Mr Crawford maintains he paid off an endowment mortgage that he took out in 1988 but the bank have disputed this. The now-defunct bank Bradford and Bingley claim he owes them £43,000 in repayments which a judge ordered to be paid by 9am on Wednesday.
One supporter told the BBC why she was there:
"This guy has been living in his house 26 years, as far as he's concerned he's been paying everything properly," she said.
"They changed the rules on him, he's fighting back, and they say they're going to chuck him out of his house. How can that be right?"
A spokesman from the bank declined to commert.
Regardless of who's right or wrong here, it's great to see so many people come out in support of a complete stranger who needed their help.