Nicola Bulley: family's tearful tributes to 'incredible mum' who had been 'looking forward to the future'

Nicola Bulley's family have paid a tearful tribute to an "incredible mum" who "always had things under her control”, at an inquest into her death.

As the two-day hearing at the County Hall in Preston draws to a close, a lawyer for the Lancashire mum's family told the coroner they sided with the evidence that her death was a “tragic accident”, despite the “rumour and suspicion” around her disappearance

Ms Bulley, 45, disappeared after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school, then taking her usual dog walk along the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on 27 January. Her body was found downstream nearly a month later.

On Tuesday (27 June), the inquest heard evidence from Ms Bulley's loved ones, including her partner of 12 years Paul Ansell, her sister, her mother, and her father.

Her sister, Louise Cunningham, cried as she told the inquest the two had been planning a spa day shortly before her death. “I literally confirmed it was booked but she didn’t pick up the message.”

“Nikki was my big sister…very much a planner," she said. “She started her career again, a busy mum, as most people are, juggling a career and family life. She always had things under her control.”

Ms Cunningham gave an insight into her sister's mental state in the months before her death, and said Ms Bulley had confided in her that she was having trouble sleeping.

“She discussed having some symptoms with the [hormone replacement therapy], it was back in the summer," she said. “She was having headaches, she couldn’t get the balance exactly right, she mentioned having struggles sleeping... She was taking lavender spray, herbal tea, anything that would relax her before bed.”

Ms Cunningham also said there had been a “blip” in her sister's mental state over the Christmas period, "but she was back on the HRT medication in January and back to work and back to the normal Nikki".

While she said her sister was drinking more heavily over that period, she "never confided in me about any suicidal thoughts".

Ms Cunningham also told the coroner how much she had loved her dog Willow, and that she would not have left her unattended by the river - where the dog was found wandering around the time of her disappearance.

“Willow was like a third child, Willow is nearly eight and I’m not sure Nikki missed a dog walk. She would always find time in her day." She continued: “There’s no way Nikki would leave Willow unattended by herself.”

Her father, Ernest Bulley, also gave a tearful tribute to his daughter. “As a child she was lovely, a little ballerina, she always danced around in her tutu; she was great.”

He told the inquest: “She was a great daughter, sister and mother, we couldn’t ask for any more from her.”

Nicola Bulley’s mother told the inquest “everything was normal” the day before her daughter died. Dorothy Bulley also cried while giving her evidence, telling the coroner she picked up Ms Bulley’s daughters from school on 26 January, and looked after them that evening.

Her partner, Paul Ansell, said she had been “looking forward to the future” before her disappearance. “The blip over the Christmas period happened but in January she was back to herself, looking forward to the future and everything was on the up.”

He went on: “She had a good day the day before (she went missing), came home full of beans, excited with work, with the meetings she had and plans for the year.”

Mr Ansell later broke down in tears during his evidence to the inquest and had to leave the room, after telling the coroner: “she was an incredible mum.”

“Nikki was a quiet person who enjoyed the simple side of life," he said in his witness statement “She was a very private person and kept herself to herself.”