Nicola Bulley: man who posted TikTok videos inside police cordon arrested again - this time for ‘stalking’

A man who was arrested over videos posted to TikTok on the day Nicola Bulley’s body was found has been further held on suspicion of stalking, police said.

Ms Bulley, 45, was last seen on 27 January walking her dog Willow in St Michael’s on Wyre, shortly after dropping her two daughters, aged nine and six, off at school. Lancashire Police launched a major search operation, but 23 days later, the mum-of-two was sadly confirmed dead after her body was recovered from the River Wyre.

In March, a 34-year-old man from Swindon, Wiltshire, was arrested on suspicion of malicious communications offences and perverting the course of justice. The arrest was related to footage he filmed and shared on 19 February from inside the police cordon that had been set up when Ms Bulley’s body was found.

Police confirmed on Friday (24 June) that the same man was again arrested on 18 June on suspicion of stalking, after he was spotted near the village where the mum went missing. He has been released on conditional bail pending further police enquiries, but his bail conditions include him being barred from entering the county of Lancashire - except for when travelling through.

A Lancashire Police spokesperson said in a statement: “His bail conditions have been set to prevent the interference or intimidation of any witness, including a number of people from the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, and to not enter Lancashire for any reason other than to travel directly through the county without stopping.” The man will also report every Wednesday to Swindon Gable Cross Police Station.

Ms Bulley’s tragic disappearance and the subsequent missing person investigation sparked a frenzy of interest from social media ‘content creators.’ Many people travelled to the village where the mum was last seen, posting videos of the spot where she was thought to have disappeared and sharing theories about the case.

Things escalated when people started breaking into abandoned buildings to search for Ms Bulley themselves, while others were going through the gardens of local residents or filming neighours’ properties. Police subsequently issued a 48-hour disperal order, remarking in a statement: “We can confirm a dispersal order was issued around 8:40pm yesterday (8 February) in St Michael’s on Wyre.

“This followed reports of inviduals - from outside the area of St Michael’s - filming on social media close to properties. This order will remain in place for 48 hours and gives officers the power to disperse anyone committing anti-social behaviour.” They added that two dispersal notices had already been issued, and a “number of people had been warned about their behaviour”.

Commenting on the behaviour, Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith said at the time that social media users had been “playing their own private detectives.” The force asked people not to “take the law into their own hands” and risk “thwarting” their investigation.

An inquest into the death of Ms Bulley, from Inskip, Lancashire, is due to begin on Monday (26 June) next week in Preston.