Nicola Bulley: Friend unhappy with search area 'tourists'

A friend of missing Nicola Bulley has said an influx of visitors to the search area has made it feel like a "tourist spot".

The 45-year-old mother-of-two went missing 12 days ago on a riverside walk in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.

Heather Gibbons said the family understood "human nature" but some people had been turning up to "do personal social media things".

Police warned they would not tolerate harmful speculation and "online abuse".

Ms Gibbons said: "The truth is if we look at it factually, no-one knows until we have some evidence.

"I think it's incredibly hard, but up to a certain level, we understand it's human nature. It's natural for everyone to have speculation, because the truth is, nothing is making sense."

She said the turnout for the search had been "amazing".

But she added: "We have noticed it does feel like some people have come to maybe use it as more like a tourist spot, to do their own personal social media things which in some ways we see and understand but it is hard, there's a lot of people around as it is."

Ms Bulley's partner Paul Ansell earlier visited the spot where police believe she fell into the River Wyre.

He spent about 10 minutes on the riverbank near the bench where her phone was found, still connected to a work Teams call.

Mr Ansell also spoke to Peter Faulding, the private underwater search expert called in by the family to help with the search.

Mr Faulding said Mr Ansell was "extremely obviously upset" but he "wanted to go and see where the original entry point was again".

"I'm just trying to explain what work we're doing and give him some confidence that Nicola is not in that river over there," he said.

"Normally we find them, this is an unusual situation. And hopefully Nicola will appear somewhere or pop up somewhere.

"I'm totally baffled by this one, to be honest."

He said his team had one small section of the river to check again later but after that point his own team's involvement in the search would be over.

Wyre Council leader Michael Vincent also joined calls for the area not to become a "morbid tourist destination".

He said negative comments and speculation were "not helpful" and urged people to stay away from the scene because it was "distasteful to the family".

He said: "The people of Wyre are all genuinely shocked by what's happened. It's rare for Wyre to be in the middle of the news nationwide."

Mr Vincent said he was confident anyone making malicious comments were "confined to certain people online who don't appreciate there are real people going through this".

Police said they still believed Ms Bulley fell in the river, but remain "fully open-minded to any information that may indicate where Nicola is or what happened to her".

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Supt Sally Riley said: "We would ask that people in the wider community, particularly on social media and online, do not speculate as to what may have happened to Nicola.

"We will not tolerate online abuse of anyone, including innocent witnesses, members of the family and friends, of local businesses, or of criminal damage or burglary."

She added: "We will be taking a strong line on that, as you would expect.

"We would ask that people in the wider community, particularly on social media and online, do not speculate as to what may have happened to Nicola."

Mark Smith, who was formerly in the Armed Forces, took a day off work to join the search for Ms Bulley.

Accompanied by his friend Paul Wignall and his dog, they have walked about four miles (6.4km), along the river.

Mr Smith said he felt compelled to "do something to help", adding: "It's a local area, and we look after our own round here.

"It's not a game, we're serious people, we've given up our wages today to come here."

Ms Bulley had dropped her two daughters, aged six and nine, off at school and then gone on her usual dog walk alongside the river.

Her phone, still connected to a Teams call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was found on a bench on a steep riverbank overlooking the water, along with the dog lead and harness on the ground.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk