Nicola Bulley‘s concerned family have issued a fresh statement to mark the three-week date since she went missing.
The 45-year-old Lancashire mum-of-two was last seen walking her dog Willow on a riverside footpath on Friday 27 January at around 9:20am, and a huge search effort has been taking place ever since in the area around Garstang Road near the village of St. Michael’s on Wyre.
Both Nicola’s dog and her phone – which was still connected to a work conference call – were found on a bench along the river on the morning she went missing.
Nicola is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair, and she speaks with an Essex accent.
Lancashire Police says it “remains committed to doing everything we can to find [Nicola]”.
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“Our sole focus throughout the investigation has been to find Nicola, to bring her home, and to support her family through the trauma they are experiencing,” Lancashire Police insisted yesterday.
“The most important person in all of this is Nicola.”
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The police’s insistence of its commitment to doing everything in their power to find Nicola comes after it was confirmed yesterday that the Constabulary had referred itself to watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, over contact officers had with Nicola prior to her disappearance.
It also comes after it was revealed earlier this week that Nicola was considered to be ‘high-risk’ at the time of her disappearance.
Police chose to state that the ‘high-risk’ classification was due to the missing woman having “significant issues with alcohol”, and the fact she was struggling with side effects of the perimenopause and menopausal symptoms.
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Nicola’s family say they were “aware” ahead of time that the police were going to release such information, but after growing controversy, Home Secretary Suella Braverman has this morning demanded an “explanation” over the force’s decision to reveal details of her private life.
Nicola Bulley’s family have issued a fresh statement three weeks after she went missing / Credit: Lancashire Police
Now, exactly three weeks to the day of her disappearance, Nicola’s family have issued a statement to urge the public that their “focus has to be on finding her”.
Their statement reads: :It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing.
“We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life. As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki.
“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her.
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“This is appalling and needs to stop.
“The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her. Due to the perimenopause, Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help, but this was giving her intense headaches, which caused her to stop taking the HRT, thinking that may have helped her – but only ended up causing this crisis.”
45-year-old Nicola Bulley went missing on Friday 27 January 2023 / Credit: Nicola Bulley
“The public’s focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life,” the family’s statement continued.
“Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers.”
Nicola’s family closed out their statement speaking directly to their “wonderful daughter, sister, partner, and mother” directly.
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“Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk. Don’t be scared, we all love you so very much.
Plans to bring Greater Manchester’s rail services onto the Bee Network unveiled
Emily Sergeant
Ambitious plans to bring all rail services in Greater Manchester onto the Bee Network have been unveiled this week.
After the success of all the region’s buses returning to local control at the start of the year, Mayor Andy Burnham has set out Greater Manchester’s step-by-step plan to bring rail into the Bee Network by 2028, working alongside the rail industry to do this as the next part of his joined-up ‘London-style’ public transport system, which is intended to boost passenger numbers, and drive growth across the region.
Developed in partnership with the rail industry, Department for Transport (DfT) and Shadow Great British Rail, Mr Burnham says his plan is aimed at not only improving transport but unlocking major regeneration and housing opportunities on land around the region’s stations too.
Greater Manchester’s proposition is for eight commuter rail lines, covering 64 stations, to be brought into the Bee Network in three phases over the next five years.
Under the plan, the first two lines – which will work to connect Manchester to Glossop and Stalybridge, in Tameside – will join the Bee Network by December 2026, and then a further 32 stations, and all lines within Greater Manchester, would join by 2030.
Not only that, but Greater Manchester leaders have also committed to working with the Government and the rail industry to “improve reliability” and “implement service changes” to help drive growth too.
If all goes to plan, the first branded Bee Network train will be running by the end of 2026.
Bus, tram and train will finally be united in a tap-in, tap-out payment system with a daily cap offering much better value for money than existing rail fares.
Another major change is that TfGM has said it will work with the rail industry to accelerate the delivery of accessibility improvements – with more than 60% of stations on the eight lines set to have step-free access by 2028, compared to 43% at the end of 2024.
“Our rail system today is acting as a brake on growth and, as the UK’s fastest growing city-region, Greater Manchester deserves better,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham, as he unveiled his plans this week.
“We need a railway that is reliable and fully integrated with the rest of the Bee Network to drive growth and deliver new homes with public transport connections on the doorstep.
“Our plan puts passengers first by delivering a simplified, joined-up public transport network, with better services, stations and overall experience. Only by making travel by train more reliable, simpler, flexible and accessible to everyone, will we convince more people to leave the car at home and make the switch to the Bee Network.”
If everything goes according to plan, it’s expected to boost the number of trips by train by 1.3 million each year.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Manchester United reinstate season ticket of fan with dementia after fury over cancellation
Danny Jones
Manchester United have quickly reinstated the season ticket of a lifelong fan suffering from dementia after it was cancelled following confusion over his attendance.
The Premier League was met with huge backlash this week after a fan account on social media posted a message from a fellow supporter explaining how their grandfather had been stripped of his season ticket for supposedly failing to attend the last five games – only that wasn’t the case at all.
As detailed in the lengthy text shared countless times on X, the elderly fan who not only struggles with the neurological condition but also doesn’t own a mobile phone, has been using a paper ticket with a QR code printed on it ever since the majority of stadiums transitioned to largely digital ticketing systems.
Not only were many quick to point out that e-ticketing can be excluding for fans of a certain age and/or accessibility needs but the result in this instance could have been avoided had they taken into account an issue no doubt many other supporters face week in and week out.
@MUSTChair@MU_ST can you guys investigate this? I am not surprised but this is disgusting behaviour. Granted it's no doubt an automated IT system but the club need to make arrangements for the older/non IT fan
As the message goes on to explain, the QR code itself “hasn’t worked all season” and the stewards have simply been making an exception and letting him in on good faith and discretion, along with the presumption that there may have just been an error during the printing of the ticket.
However, since had and could not be scanned on each of these occasions, there was no real record of his entry on their database whatsoever, meaning that he unknowingly hit the limit of games supporters are allowed to miss before a season ticket can be removed.
As a result, not only was his season ticket of more than 45 years cancelled but his seat was immediately relisted for the ballot and quickly sold to someone else ahead of the Brighton game on Sunday, 21 January – at a now inflated price, no less.
Understandably, United supporters and various other clubs were left shocked by the error of the club, damning the decision as “shameful” and disgusting”, with many claiming that they are once again turning their back on so-called ‘legacy fans’.
One person replied: “Man United failing in their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act / Equality Act 2010, with regard to reasonable adjustments, and the club is now vulnerable to legal action […] Scandalous that clubs cannot just do the right thing anymore and only see fans as cash cows to exploit and (effectively) abuse as they see fit.”
What’s even more alarming is the worry that this has already or will happen again to other fans in similar situations, as a fellow Red responding to a response from the club reinforced the same concerns, claiming that they were unwilling to make reasonable adjustments for a family member with Alzheimer’s.
I'm the same. My mum has alzheimer's and I can't always go, especially to night matches but it maybe short notice so can't sell ticket. I asked if this could be taken into consideration at the end of the season and they said no. If you miss games then sell your ticket.
Thankfully, as per multiple outlets, the club has now at the very least rectified this particular mistake and although the club’s Director of Supporter Services had been “unhelpful” up until that point, the right steps have finally been taken.
On the other hand, as the original poster wrote following the update, “Good to hear this has now been resolved, but it should never have happened in the first place.”
Moreover, it’s clear that better measures and safeguarding practices need to be put into place when it comes to contingencies like this because although the Premier League has stated a full switch to digital e-tickets must be complete by the end of 2027 at the latest, there will always need to be exceptions.
As for ticket prices themselves, another banner up at Old Trafford after the club adjusted ticket prices and removed concessions across all categories for the remainder of the season – it read: £66 of your debt, not ours”. It’s not the first time fans have already protested since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s tenure began.
“£66 you’re taking the p*ss” sing those protesting behind the banner. There are also chants of “you’re forcing us out.” pic.twitter.com/L34l36uvXk
Emily Sergeant -
17th February 2023 
