A furious charity boss says her organisation will soon be left homeless following a political fall out with council leaders.

Kerryanne Wilde, chief executive of CERT UK, formerly Eden Flood Volunteers, has accused members of “political bullying”, claiming Cumbria County Council’s ruling Labour/Liberal Democrat alliance is withdrawing support after finding out UKIP were being allowed to send a representative to an upcoming floods event.

She said as well as deciding not to offer sponsorship, as hoped, the council now wants them out of its Penrith premises.

Mrs Wilde claimed the authority has also banned its officers from attending its Cumbria Flood Expo in Carlisle next month – forcing speaker Adrian Holme, a senior firefighter, to withdraw.

She explained the charity, which supports victims of flooding and other emergencies, currently has an agreement to use the council’s Skirsgill Depot for free until the end of June.

Mrs Wilde said they had been in initial talks about taking it on permanently under a community transfer but earlier this week – following the UKIP row – the council announced they would have to pay rent, at a rate of £35,000 a year, if it wants to remain there.

However the county council has insisted this is not the case, now declaring it needs the premises back for its own use.

Mrs Wilde, who stressed they invited representatives of all political parties to attend the Flood Expo, said the row erupted after she announced UKIP leader Paul Nuttall or his deputy Peter Whittle would be attending.

“We are not politically-aligned. We need to work with all political parties to get what’s best for our clients,” she said.

Mrs Wilde, who has won awards for her work following the Cumbrian floods, said it came to a head earlier this week when a senior council officer informed her they would not be providing sponsorship for the expo.

“I was then informed that it had been brought to their attention of the attendance of Paul Nuttall and that I should be careful who we mix with seeing as this is a Labour/Lib Dem council and it had been noted and commented on,” she said.

Mrs Wilde said later that day she had a separate meeting with another officer and the potential community transfer of the building came up. “We were told that will never happen,” she said.

Instead she claimed they were told that if they wanted to stay in the building after July 2017 it would cost £35,000 a year in rent.

She firmly believes they are being penalised for allowing UKIP to attend their event. “It is their way of bullying organisations which do not toe the line or agree with them,” she added.

But a Cumbria County Council spokesman said that the lease conversation was not linked to the Expo but its need for the premises.

“Last year the council agreed to provide free use of premises at its Skirsgill Depot to CERT for 12 months.

“That will be up in June. The council expects the need for use of the premises to have ended by then and requires the buildings for its own use from that point,” a spokesman explained.

But Mrs Wilde asked, if that was the case, why were officers talking about them renting the building only this week?

She added that she was also told by email that council leaders had told officers not to attend the Expo, despite CERT setting aside a free stand for the council to promote its floods work.

Firefighter Mr Holme, who was one of the main speakers, then pulled out, sending his apologies to the group but stating that he must comply with a directive from bosses.

“At the end of the day if they don’t want to sponsor the Flood Expo that’s fine. That’s their decision. But they are not sending anyone. It’s petty. I’m absolutely disgusted,” said Mrs Wilde.

However the council spokesman added: “To make clear our position, after consideration Cumbria County Council, as part of the Cumbria Strategic Flood Partnership, decided that the limited funding and officer time available must be focused on the ongoing programme of Flood Forum events across the county and declined to sponsor the Flood Expo event. This officer decision was supported by members.”

The county council and its partners have held more than 40 Flood Forum public meetings across the county since May 2016. They aim to inform local communities about flood causes, recovery and resilience and give them a forum to express their views.