The British National Party's candidate for Liverpool Mayor, Mike Whitby, has been accused of renting a "redundant pigeon shed" in the city in order to stand in the coming elections.
Whitby, who lives in North Wales, is required to own a property or have business interests in Liverpool to stand for mayor. He is also standing for a seat on Wrexham Council.
He has said on his nomination papers that he rents a "storage facility" at the Cricketers Club in Wavertree, according to the Liverpool Echo.
A Cricketers Club source told the Echo: “It’s an old shed in the grounds that used to be used by the pigeon lads. They used to race pigeons from there.
“He’s been renting it for around 12 months, maybe longer. We don’t know what they’ve got in there. They say it’s for equipment, but I don’t know what equipment they’ve got.”
But Whitby told The Huffington Post UK that a "redundant pigeon shed" did not do the building justice.
"Well if that's how they want to present it...! But it's much more than just a storage facility. There are a lot of other things going on in there," he said, adding the facility was used "regularly".
Whitby went on to say that he grew up in Liverpool and lived there until the age of 30. He said that he started renting the "storage facility" 18 months ago.
According to the council, candidates are eligible to stand if they are registered as an elector in Liverpool or have lived in the city for 12 months before their nomination.
Candidates can also stand if their main or only place of work for the last year has been in Liverpool or they have occupied, either as an owner or a tenant, any land or premises in the city for 12 months before nomination.