Nicola Bulley bombshell as forensic expert brands investigation ‘a mess’ and says crucial evidence may have been missed

A FORENSIC expert has dropped a bombshell on the Nicola Bulley investigation - labeling it "a mess" as crucial evidence may have been missed.

Today is the ninth painstaking day police have been scouring the area the mum-of-two was last seen.

The cops said in recent days their "main working hypothesis" was that Nicola had "sadly fallen" into the icy River Wyre.

However, they revealed yesterday there was “no evidence of a slip or a fall".

The dog walker, 45, vanished after dropping her children off at school in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, on Friday January 27.

Since then there has been no trace of the mum-of-two, leaving her family in agony.

Her partner Paul Ansell last night begged for help, saying he still held out hope of finding her.

And he added: “There is no evidence yet to suggest any scenario over another and all options must be kept wide open."

But underwater forensics expert Peter Faulding has revealed he thinks police may have missed "critical" evidence.

He also slammed the cops for not closing off the area where Nicola vanished, saying they were too quick to assume there were no suspicious circumstances.

He told : "It should have been sealed off immediately as a potential crime scene.

"That area is critical. Critical forensics could have been found in that location."

Peter said "loads" of people would have now trampled through the area - covering up any remaining tracks.

He continued: "I don't know how the police can say there's no evidence of third-party involvement in this disappearance when they haven't actually checked.

"I think this is a mess, really."

The expert also called the police's equipment low-tech, adding: "It's very unlikely they would be able to find a body with it."

'NO EVIDENCE'

The cops were also slammed yesterday by Nicola's sister Louise Cunningham and friend Emma White for their hypothesis.

The pair explained that there was "no evidence" behind the theory that the mum plunged in while trying to retrieve her dog Willow's tennis ball.

And Emma pointed out that Nicola didn't even take Willow's ball on walks anymore as the pooch would become fixated on the toy, making it hard to walk.

It comes after the police said they had tracked down a "key witness" last night.

Cops had released an image of a woman in yellow pushing a pram - asking for the public's help to find her.

And she was quickly tracked down last night, with Lancashire Police saying: "Our enquiries to find Nicola are extensive and will include speaking to as many members of the public as possible."

They added: "There will be many people who were in that area at the time who may not think they can help, we would urge you not to make that decision yourself and to come forward so we can have as much material as possible to assist the investigation."