'Nikki would be mortified' - Nicola Bulley's partner speaks out over 'conflict' with police

Nicola Bulley's partner has spoken out over the "mortifying" experience following her tragic disappearance and the subsequent police search.

The mother of two disappeared while walking her dog near the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, sparking a fervent three-week search operation. Nicola's body was eventually found by a member of the public, and an inquest concluded her death was an accidental drowning.

Lancashire Constabulary, however, faced criticism for their handling of the case and for allowing speculation and misinformation to proliferate, exacerbating the distress of Ms Bulley's loved ones. During the investigation, the force came under fire for telling the public that Ms Bulley had "suffered 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," reports LancsLive.

READ MORE: 'I'm barely eating, I'm grieving and I'm being hounded by bailiffs'

Paul Ansell, Ms Bulley's grieving partner, has spoken out about how this move by the police led to a "conflict" between them and Ms Bulley's family. In a new BBC documentary airing this evening (October 3), he expressed his shock 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."

These revelations are part of 'The Search For Nicola Bulley', which is set to broadcast on BBC1 at 9pm tonight. Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, who led the investigation, features in the programme as well and she expressed that Mr Ansell was "key to a lot of people's theories and we had to negate that".

Mr Ansell also touched on the baseless rumours that circulated about the case during the search, the Express reports. He revealed: "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."

Regarding the effect of social media speculation, he added: "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."

Mr Ansell also shared the challenges of supporting his two daughters while the search was still underway. He admitted: "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?'"

Ms Bulley's sister, Louise Cunningham, also condemned those on social media who spread "disgusting allegations" and "vile theories". She stated: "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 noted it was "emotionally draining" to be part of the film process, yet they pressed on to "ensure she has the legacy she deserves".

Rachel Lob-levyt, who helmed the new documentary, shared: "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."

"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."