West Ham fan reaches out to Crystal Palace ball boy after falling on him during goal celebration crush, before Tomas Soucek rescued youngster from beneath collapsed LED screen

A fan who fell on top of a Crystal Palace ball boy as West Ham fans celebrated a goal is trying to reach the boy and invite him to the London Stadium.

Jack Levin, who was celebrating his 62nd birthday, jumped forward and threw an LED billboard at the child, as other fans also entered the crowd.

Millions of Match of the Day viewers watched as Levin, an official in charge of the legal costs, fell onto the advertising hoarding, which then fell on the boy, prompting goalscorer Tomas Soucek to come to his aid.

Mr Levin, from Essex, said he injured his ankle and scraped his knees in the fray that ensued when West Ham took the lead in the 67th minute.

As he got back up, Levin tried to reach the trapped boy. Brazilian star Lucas Paquetá also got involved in the fight.

‘I was pushed from behind by other fans who fell forward and I tried to balance myself by putting my hands on the advertising board, but it gave way.

‘When I got up again, I wanted to help the boy and saw Soucek coming to his aid.’

Part of the screen fell on a Crystal Palace ball boy, and his clothes stuck to it.

Sensing danger, Soucek quickly gave up his celebration and used all his strength to free the boy. Jarrod Bowen then helped him to his feet.

Mr Lewin added: ‘My ankle hurt for about 10 minutes. But I’m OK now. But most of all I’m happy the boy is OK and for the chivalrous way the players reacted and forgot all about celebrating.

‘Lucas was lying on his back and had no idea what was going on around him, but the players were brilliant with the boy.

‘It shows that despite what people say about their wealth and unworldliness, they are decent people, as most would be in such a situation.

‘If Tomas hadn’t pulled him out, he could have been seriously injured and thank God that didn’t happen.’ My friends who were with me were also very worried about him.

‘I saw Tomas and Jarrod Bowen and a couple of other players looking after him, but the boy looked quite shaken and upset.

‘I’m sorry for what he went through. It really wasn’t anyone’s fault. There was a fence that gave way on the billboards first and then people fell on each other and I got pushed in there too with the LED sign breaking.

‘I will be contacting Crystal Palace to see if I can speak to the boy’s parents and see if I can persuade him to come to West Ham as a guest for the return leg later in the season.’

He added: ‘My daughter Cara would have been with me. But she found out a few weeks ago that she was expecting her first child and decided not to come to the games while she was pregnant.

“It would have been very worrying if she had been there in the crowd.”

‘Overall it was a great day. We won… although my friend’s wife made me wear a “Birthday Boy” badge for the race, which was quite funny considering I’m 62!’

Bowen and the ball boy hugged, after which Soucek also went to check on him.

The boy was visibly shaken before being led away from the stadium by security personnel.

Bowen later scored the second goal of the game to help the Hammers to their first victory under new manager Julen Lopetegui.

Fans on social media were quick to praise Soucek for his actions.

One of them tweeted: ‘Soucek is an absolute hero, he saved that ball boy from being crushed’.

Another wrote: ‘Tomas Soucek. Goalscorer. Hero’.

A third message said: ‘Kudos to Tommy Soucek for spotting the danger when a ball boy fell through the advertising barrier as West Ham celebrated their second goal.’

After the match, Bowen gave his shirt to the ball boy.

Recalling the incident in which he and Soucek rushed to the boy’s aid, Bowen said: “I got him out as quickly as I could, it was just instinct. He’s completely fine, which is nice to see.”