US tourist takes wrong boat, ends up Southend fan

An American tourist who mistakenly boarded a boat full of die-hard Southend United fans has ended up a Shrimper.

Evan Johnston, a student from Arizona, thought he was taking a hop-on hop-off cruise past London's iconic landmarks on Saturday.

But the 21-year-old mistakenly boarded a Thames cruiser packed with a rowdy crowd of Shrimpers en route to their National League fixture at Sutton.

"It was a daunting start for him without a doubt, but he absolutely loved every minute of it," Southend fan Andy Ward said.

The day culminated with the Essex faithful singing "Evan is a Shrimper" from the away end as their side drew 1-1.

He has now been invited to be a guest at Roots Hall for Southend United's home fixture against Solihull Moors on Saturday.

Suspicions first arose when Mr Johnston was seen sitting by himself while everyone partied around him.

"He didn't know what was going on," Mr Ward told BBC Essex.

"But everyone made him feel welcome and in the end all the young lads bought him beers and gave him a match ticket.

"He absolutely loved it and the younger fans need praise because they were fantastic with him."

Mr Johnston admitted thinking it was strange that so many of his fellow passengers knew each other, but staff allowed him on board and he took his seat.

"He was loving it.. He said he'd never had that before. It was a bit surreal for everyone," Mr Ward said.

However, the American guest missed what would have been the first goal he had ever seen scored - because he was at a burger van.

"He said 'I'm Southend 'til I die' and that really made me laugh," added Mr Ward, who also planned to show Mr Johnston the city's famous pier.

A spokesman for Southend United said the club would give him a behind-the-scenes tour of the ground on Saturday.

"After hearing he was one of the 1,459 fans in the away end at Sutton – by complete accident – we now want to make sure he can experience and enjoy a home match," he said.

"Full credit to our brilliant supporters who continue to back the team in their numbers.

"This story is a perfect example of the incredible community spirit that brings our club together."