A DIVING expert who led a search for Nicola Bulley claims he has video "proof" she did not fall in the river.

Nicola, 45, was last seen in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, at around 9.15am on January 27.

Police believe she fell in the River Wyre while walking her dog Willow.

Dive expert Peter Faulding says a clip shows the river is slow-moving, which means she would have sunk "very quickly".

He claims this means Nicola, 45, would have remained near where she disappeared on January 27 if she'd fallen in.

The forensic expert also says the missing mum could have simply "stood up" in the water as rocks at the time were under just 2ft of water.

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Peter claims this means Nicola did not fall in the river as police believe.

He has now urged officers to carry out a "wider land search" of outbuildings and sheds as the hunt enters its 13th day.

Speaking about the video, Peter said: "The log stayed at that point for 20 minutes, and it actually spiralled and went up six feet and came back to the same place.

"The river on the day was slightly higher – it was about a foot higher – but I'd be very surprised in my experience [if she was there] as a body usually goes to the bottom very quickly.

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"If Nicola slipped down the bank, she would have landed in about 2ft of water but onto rocks, and she could have stood up."

Peter, who runs Specialist Group International (SGI), led a sonar search for the mum in the river.

But the group later called off the search with the expert saying they have done all they can to try and find the missing mum.

He was yesterday pictured visiting the scene where Nicola was last seen with her partner Paul Ansell.

Peter claims Paul now believes "Nicola has not gone in that river" after speaking with the diving experts.

He said: "He's very upset and he was in tears yesterday. He's very emotional, obviously.

"He was shocked at how shallow the rocks were yesterday. He thought it was really deep there. If she had gone in she would have landed on the rocks.

"The family thanked us for being here. They said 'You've given us confidence now' and his belief is that Nicola has not gone in that river."

Peter's comments comes as police moved their search 20 miles away to Morecambe Bay.

Specialist teams have been seen searching the sea today with officers confirming they are focusing on the mouth of the river.

Lancashire Police suggested finding Nicola "in the open sea becomes more of a possibility".

They said previously their “main working hypothesis” is that Nicola had “sadly fallen in the river”.

Nicola has been described as white, 5ft 3ins tall with light-brown shoulder-length hair.

She was last seen wearing an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket with a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat underneath and black tight-fitting jeans.

She had long green walking socks tucked into her jeans, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit on.

Nicola has an Essex accent and links to the Thornton-Cleveleys area near Blackpool.

Anybody with information about where she might be is asked to call 101, quoting log 473 of January 27, or ring 999 for immediate sightings.

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