Nicola Bulley's partner speaks out on 'mortifying' police move

Nicola Bulley's partner has recounted the "mortifying" experience they endured during the police search following her tragic disappearance. The mum-of-two vanished while walking her dog by the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, sparking a frantic three-week search.

The 45-year-old's body was ultimately found by a member of the public, and an inquest determined that she had accidentally drowned. Lancashire Constabulary faced backlash for their handling of the case and for not curbing the spread of speculation and misinformation, which intensified the anguish of Ms Bulley's family and friends.

During the probe, the force was criticised for disclosing to the public that Ms Bulley had been dealing with "some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months".

Paul Ansell, Ms Bulley's bereaved partner, has voiced his dismay over how this disclosure by the police caused a "conflict" between them and Ms Bulley's family, reports Lancs Live.. In a forthcoming BBC documentary set to air tonight (October 3), he shared his astonishment, saying: "We were in the living room, still working on it and before we knew it they had released it.

"Nikki would be mortified about what has happened and how it came about. There was an awful lot of conflict with the police."

The BBC1 broadcast 'The Search For Nicola Bulley', set to air at 9pm tonight, sheds light on the investigation into the case. Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, who spearheaded the probe, appears in the documentary stating that Paul Ansell was "key to a lot of people's theories and we had to negate that".

The Express also reports on Mr Ansell's personal distress caused by groundless speculations. He opens up about the effect of social media rumours, stating: "I was getting direct messages from people that I've never met. They don't know me, they don't know us, they don't know Nikki.

"They know nothing about us. Just messages like 'you b******'. 'We know what you did'. 'You know you can't hide Paul', that kind of stuff.

"It wasn't a huge part of our lives. But yeah, when you experience something like this, you realise what a huge monster it can be, I guess."

While dealing with the online turmoil, Mr Ansell faced the challenge of remaining strong for his two daughters amidst the search, confessing: "The nights were the hardest. In the morning the hope would be strong.

"It used to go dark at like 4pm. It used to get to about 3pm and then I'd start panicking that I knew it would start going dark in an hour. So we had an hour to find her.

"And then obviously I'd have the girls. The first they'd do when they came out of school was run over and say 'have we found mummy? '".

Louise Cunningham, the sister of Ms Bulley, has hit out at those spreading "disgusting allegations" and "vile theories" on social media. "It doesn't always have to be something sinister linked to something that happens. Sometimes bad things just happen. I just wish it didn't happen to us. We're just a normal family. We've had a really tough time."

The family described their participation in the documentary as "emotionally draining," but felt compelled to continue to "ensure she has the legacy she deserves".

Rachel Lob-levyt, director of the new documentary, commented on the family's reaction to the film: "We had a viewing with the family. It was difficult - obviously emotional for them. They feel the documentary really honours their experience, and honours Nikki. At the time she went missing, Paul was subject to a really difficult level of scrutiny."

She added, "The idea of putting himself back in the public eye is nerve-racking but ultimately, he thought it the right thing to do. The social media sleuths felt entitled to say whatever they wanted. In the past we'd have talked about these things in the pub, whereas now people broadcast it online and everything is accelerated. Opinion takes on similar weight to verified information."