A New Toronto businessman is lucky to be alive after suffering a bad six-foot fall from a ladder outside his paint store.

John Miele, owner of Harvey’s Paint and Wallpaper, shows large bruises to his feet, arm and other areas, after his step-ladder managed to break a plastic sewer clean-out cap on which it stood flat on the surface outside his 2908 Lake Shore Blvd. W., which is one of the oldest paint stores in the area.

The plastic cap allows City workers access to clean the sewers.

High-quality video from a security camera shows Miele setting up then climbing the ladder as he performed some work outside the front door.

Minutes later the video showed the ladder collapsing as the popular paint seller takes a solid fall to the ground. He laid there briefly in shock.

“I was stunned and it hurt a lot,” he says as he shows scars of the fall. “I was in pain for weeks and I am still in pain.”

He has since filed a complaint with the City of Toronto, which led to a City crew exchanging the demolished plastic cap for a large metal one, which appears to be solid.

Miele says over the years the City has had to replace the plastic caps, which he claims become weak when salted over the winter.

“All the plastic caps in the area here should be replaced with metal ones,” he swears. “We have complained many times and it could be a senior next time.’

He said no one would have believed his story or witnessed his fall if it was not for the video.