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.
Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
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Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Emily Sergeant -
17th February 2023 
