Nicola Bulley: Police watchdog to probe police visit

An investigation has been launched into a police visit to Nicola Bulley's home weeks before her disappearance.

The 45-year-old was the focus of a huge missing person search before she was found in the River Wyre, a mile from when she was last seen on 27 January.

Lancashire Police previously said officers were called to a "concern for welfare report" at her home on 10 January.

An inquest into Ms Bulley's death was earlier opened and adjourned.

A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct said: "Following a referral by Lancashire Constabulary on Thursday, we have started an independent investigation regarding contact the force had with Nicola Bulley on 10 January.

He said the investigation was "in its very early stages".

The inquest hearing at Preston Coroner's Court revealed the mother-of-two had been identified by dental records.

Her family was informed of the date of the inquest but they had chosen not to attend, coroner Dr James Adeley said.

He said they had done so for "reasons I can quite understand".

Dr Adeley said he had contacted surgeon Andrew Edwards to ask him to compare dental records obtained by police from the Great Eccleston dental surgery.

He said the surgeon had examined the body and found restorative work carried out was identical.

"I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities, and more, that positive identification has been made," the coroner said.

He said remaining evidence gathered by police and the post-mortem examination required "further evaluation" and a full inquest - which aims to find out the circumstances surrounding her death including how she died - was likely to be held in June, once availability of a pathologist had been checked.

He said: "This will allow time to collate the facts of the case and allow the experts involved to finalise the findings from investigations that still need to be undertaken."

The hearing was attended by six members of the press and lasted about five minutes.

Ms Bulley disappeared while walking her dog by the river after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school.

Her dog was found shortly afterwards along with her phone - still connected to a work conference call - on a bench by a steep riverbank.

A major search operation got under way but it was 23 days before her body was found in the river.

In a tribute released on Monday, Ms Bulley's family described her as "the centre of our world" and "the one who made our lives so special".

"We will never forget Nikki, how could we," they said.

Police and sections of the media have been criticised for their conduct during the search for Ms Bulley.

Broadcasting regulator Ofcom said it was "extremely concerned" to hear complaints made about ITV and Sky News by Ms Bulley's family and said it had written to both "to ask them to explain their actions".

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