Paul Nuttall's "tough week" is set to continue as it has emerged his website incorrectly claimed he was invited to sit on the board of a vocational training charity.

The Ukip leader, who is contesting the Stoke Central byelection on Thursday (23 February), has come under repeated fire after several claims about the politician have been proven to be exaggerated or falsified.

More from IBTimes UK on Paul Nuttall

The latest fact to be disputed is that Nuttall served on the board of North West Training Council (NWTC) in Bootle.

In a piece on Nuttall's website from 2009, he was quoted as saying: "As a former Hugh Baird College lecturer, I feel particularly strongly about vocational courses. If facilities like this existed for youngsters when I was at school, many of my classmates would have kept on the straight and narrow.

The online article quoted Nuttall saying: "I was very impressed by my visit to the NWTC and have nothing but praise for their contribution. They are doing a first-class job and I am thrilled at the honour of being a board member."

However, the NWTC's chief executive, Paul Musa, said that while Nuttall had visited the NWTC, he had never served on its board.

"Mr Nuttall was never invited to become a board member of NWTC as this would need to be a directive of the NWTC board, who he never met," he said in an email to the Guardian.

Nuttall's name does not appear on any documentation filed by the NWTC with either Companies House or the Charity Commission.

A spokesman for Ukip did not respond directly to the claims when questioned by the Guardian, but accused the newspaper of running a "politically motivated campaign" to smear Nuttall.

IBTimes UK contacted Nuttall's spokesperson for a comment, who did not immediately respond to requests.

Other claims by Nuttall that have been disputed include that he lost "close personal friends" at the Hillsborough disaster, that he played professional football at Tranmere Rovers and that he earned a doctoratee.

In a speech to Ukip's spring conference on Friday, Nuttall said: "Many of you will have seen noticed that I've had a bit of a difficult week.

"This is twofold, actually. Firstly, I take the blame for the fact that I failed to check what I put up on my website in my name. That is my fault and I apologise.

"But I do not apologise for what is a coordinated, cruel and almost evil smear campaign that has been directed at me. It is based on lies from sources who have not been named. It has been a tough week for me, but I will not allow it to break me and I will not allow them to break Ukip."

Since many of the claims have been refuted, Nuttall's website has been taken down for "for maintenance".