She would never have gone into the river intentionally

NICOLA'S PARTNER PAUL ANSELL AT INQUEST

- HOLLIE BONE

NICOLA Bulley drowned in a tragic accident, a coroner ruled after the mum of two's devastated partner told an inquest she would never have deliberately gone into the river.

Coroner Dr James Adeley agreed and ruled out suicide, saying: "There is no evidence to support this conclusion."

Nicola was last seen alive on January 27. A search began when her dog Willow was found alone on the banks of the River Wyre in Lancashire, near to a bench where mortgage broker Nicola's phone sat still connected to a work call.

A GP and mental health nurse. yesterday told the inquest 45-year-old Nicola had been perimenopausal and had suffered from low mood and anxiety.

Asked by the coroner about Nicola's mental health, her partner Paul Ansell said she had suffered a "blip over the Christmas period" and had made "a couple of throwaway comments, but nothing that gave me any concern".

He and her sister Louise Cunningham said Nicola, who regarded Willow as a "third child", would never go into the river intentionally and leave the dog.

Nicola's body was found on February 19, about a mile from where she had vanished. Experts told the inquest on Monday how cold water shock would have meant Nicola drowned within seconds of falling into the river.

Giving his verdict, Dr Adeley said: "The circumstances found after her death would be extremely unusual for suicide where Nikki left Willow, a dog to who she was devoted and was described as a third child, alone on the river bank.