Nicola Bulley’s cause of death revealed as Fitbit reported heart rate days later

The press room at Preston County Hall is gradually filling, with the inquest due to resume at 10am, Holly Evans reports.

Security remains tight at the entrance of the building due to the “unusual online commentary” around the case, with journalists and members of the public required to register and show proof of identity.

The family of Nicola Bulley have not yet been seen, although both her husband and sister are due to give evidence this morning.

Nicola Bulley’s husband Paul Ansell and his sister Louise Cunningham are due to give evidence at the inquest today.

Mr Ansell appeared on the media on several occasions appealing for information before his wife was found.

The inquest is due to resume later today.

Nicola Bulley’s body was finally found on 19 February, around a mile away from where she was last seen on the river in St Michael’s on Wyre in Lancashire.

Bulley had disappeared on 27 January while walking her dog Willow after dropping her children off at school earlier that morning.

Police said two walkers, who used a path well trodden by officers, found her body, which was formally identified the following day.

Experts have said there are a number of reasons why Bulley might not have been found sooner.

“Although the area where she was found is just within the tidal section, I doubt she moved up and down the river very far,” a professor who studies rivers told The Daily Telegraph.

Police who investigated the disappearance of Nicola Bulley issued a statement earlier this month to stamp out “speculation” after officers returned to the river where her body was found.

Police returned to the River Wyre in Lancashire in early April, six weeks after Ms Bulley’s body was found in the water, ahead of an inquest into her death which will be heard on Monday, 26 June at County Hall in Preston.

Police who shared personal information about Nicola Bulley during the search for the late mother-of-two have been cleared by a watchdog.

Lancashire Constabulary faced investigations by three separate bodies into its handling of the case after coming under heavy criticism.

The force’s conduct was questioned by several high-ranking officers and public officials during the three-week search for the 45-year-old, whose body was pulled from the River Wyre in Lancashire on 19 February, after being last seen alive on 27 January.

The 45-year-old vanished after dropping her daughters at school and then walking her dog along the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on 27 January.

Emily Atkinson and William Mata report:

The second day of the inquest is set to hear from Nicola Bulley’s GP, her sister Louise Cunningham and her husband Paul Ansell.

Nicola Bulley was alive when she entered the water of the River Wyre and was not under the influence of alcohol, an inquest has heard.

Giving evidence at the two-day hearing, Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour said there is “no evidence” that Nicola Bulley was assaulted or harmed as her cause of death was confirmed as drowning.

The 45-year-old mortgage adviser disappeared on 27 January after dropping her two daughters, aged six and nine, at school and then taking her springer spaniel Willow for a walk along the river in St Michael’s on Wyre.

With the second day of the inquest set to take place on Tuesday, my colleague Holly Evans has this comprehensive report on Monday’s proceedings:

Mother-of-two Nicola Bulley could have started drowning within seconds of entering the cold river where her body was found, the inquest into her death has heard.

Professor Michael Tipton, a world expert in drowning, said there would have been a “fairly rapid incapacitation” after Ms Bulley went into the River Wyre on the morning of 27 January.

It may have been just seconds before she began to lose consciousness, the hearing was told yesterday.