Amateur sleuths are stopped from searching abandoned house for missing mother ... trends now

Vigilantes have reportedly been banned from the area where Nicola Bulley vanished after they began searching an abandoned house across the river from where she vanished.

Police are said to have handed a dispersal order to a group of men who had travelled 50 miles from the Liverpool area to St Michael's on Wyre yesterday evening.

They apparently tried to search a property close to where Nikki vanished on Friday January 27 - but her friends said today that the property has already been 'searched from top to bottom by the police'.

One said: 'We are at the point where people coming to "help" look for Nikki in this way is actually doing the complete opposite'. 

It came as the hunt for the mother-of-two entered a 14th day and repeated warnings from the police for the public not to interfere with their hunt for Nicola. Earlier this week Lancashire Constabulary said it 'will not tolerate' people breaking into riverside properties.

Speaking from the scene last night, TalkTV's Oliver Whitfield-Miocic said: 'The police here have just had to issue a dispersal order to a group of men believed to have travelled down from the Liverpool area.

'They wanted to go and search this abandoned house on the other side of the river where police believe Nicola Bulley had accidentally fallen in.

'All of this despite the police already having searched that area and, only 24 hours ago, the Superintendent in charge of this investigation asking people not to take the law into their own hands.'

A friend of Nikki's has since taken to social media to reveal she knows the the owners of the property.

Heather Gibbons, who has been speaking on behalf of the family, said she had personally spoken to the owner and he had searched the abandoned house and derelict outbuildings. 

She said on Facebook: 'Here are some facts that need to be known. 

'It's not abandoned. Its owned by a lovely family who have lived in this village for generations and would do anything they can to help in the search for Nikki.

'It has been searched, inside and outside, from top to bottom by the police. I have clarified this with the family themselves and also with the police. They have never refused entry to the police or told them they need a warrant to search'.

And in a warning to the vigilantes she added last night: 'Tonight multiple police units are out in St Michaels dealing with people trespassing, not only on this families land but also others. We are at the point where people coming to "help" look for Nikki in this way is actually doing the complete opposite'.

People replied to the post, including one saying: 'There seems to be no SOLID facts except Nicola is missing. Timelines don't add up. This is exactly the reason there is so much speculation, confusion and allegations. I hope that behind the scenes the police do have actual facts that they are just choosing not to share, for whatever reason. Because there is still a chance Nicola is alive somewhere'.

A family friend of Nicola Bulley has also been forced to apologise to police after claiming they had failed to search an abandoned house near where missing mum went missing.

Tily Ann attempted to blame the police and media as she made an impassioned plea on social media for the property to be searched. But she has now apologised and said she was withdrawing from social media blaming comments and accusations that followed her outburst.

In an impassion Facebook post Tily Ann had said:’ The abandoned house and outbuildings have not been searched as it is not currently a crime investigation !!!! (This should have been done straight away!)

But later the friend was forced to make a grovelling apology for getting her facts wrong.

She wrote on Facebook:’ I would like to apologies for the confusion regarding the house.I was told last night it hadn’t been searched but then tonight it was confirmed to me it has now in fact been searched.

‘I apologies profusely if I’ve caused aby upset, this was absolutely not my intention.

‘The whole purpose of this post is to make sure people understood the little details that were getting mixed up by the media/police and to hopefully answer everyone;s questions.

‘I am going to be leaving social media as I just can’t cope with all the horrendous comments and accusations. All I want to do is find Nikki.

‘I really can’t understand what on earth is going on at the moment, it doesn’t make any sense.’

As well as officers from Lancashire Police searching the abandoned house a team a team from the Bowland Penine Mountain rescue team went through the house.

Ken Camplin said he and his team of 25 volunteers were walking through the grounds that overlook the River Wyre when they met the owner who allowed them to look round the property.

He said:’ While the team was searching the grounds, the owner was there for some reason and we asked him to go in and he had a quick look round and she wasn’t there.’

It came as the expert diver leading the river search for Nicola Bulley has dramatically called it off to declare she is not in the water - as he branded the case 'baffling' and said he 'did not know' whether the mother-of-two was still alive. 

Peter Faulding, leader of underwater search experts Specialist Group International (SGI), said he had been 'determined' to find Nicola but that both he and her partner Paul Ansell, 44, were 'relieved' that he hadn't. 

The pair met at the site of the search this morning in St. Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, where Mr Faulding confirmed to Paul that Nicola 'is not here'.  

The SGI team are leaving today and will not be helping Lancashire Police search the 'lower estuary' of the River Wyre. The force told MailOnline their search remains 'ongoing' and that there was no deadline in place for it to end.

It comes after police last night admitted that Nicola could have left the area with a third party when she vanished during a walk with her springer spaniel Willow at around 9.20am on January 27.  

While police still maintain that she most likely fell into the river, superintendent Sally Riley, of Lancashire Police, said it remained a 'possibility' that the 45-year-old left the area by one path not covered by CCTV cameras - but added that 'every single' suspicion or criminal suggestion had so far been discounted. 

The path in question is crossed by the main road through the village, and officers are scrambling to trace dashcam footage from 700 drivers who passed along the route at the time she disappeared.

After reviewing other CCTV footage, police are confident that Nicola did not leave the field near the river via Rowanwater. 

Mr Faulding had said that if his team did not find Nicola in the water using his sonar equipment, then it was his belief that she had not been in the river, raising the prospect of a 'third party' involvement in the disappearance.

Announcing he had called off the search on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Faulding said: 'We are happy that the area where Nicola's phone was found and the harness, we've thoroughly searched it from all the way down to the weir and up to the bridge, about a mile upstream, and we've confirmed to Paul [her partner] that there's nothing in that area. 

'That's been dived by police dive teams three times as well... and on the day that Nicola went missing it was dived in the afternoon, with no sign of Nicola.' 

He added: 'I've worked on some weird cases, but this is a baffling case. For someone whose mobile phone was found there... I would've expected Nicola to be found that afternoon by the police dive team, normally down in the water, but there was no sign of her.'

He said he simply 'didn't know' where Nicola was, adding: 'I was determined to find Nicola, but one good thing is that I didn't want to find a body, so I'm happy we haven't found Nicola's body, which can lead to other areas, so we don't know if Nicola is alive, this is just a baffling case.

'After the end of today, we've done what we've come here to do, we've cleared the area for the police and the family, we can say that in the top section of river and some of the section going down towards the sea, that she's not in that part.' 

He said he could not comment on 'further down the estuary' because his team was not searching that area. 

'We just want to bring some form of closure,' he added, 'And I say again that I'm happy we never found a body and Paul is relieved we found nothing up there.' 

Paul and Mr Faulding were this morning joined by a senior detective and a friend of Nicola, who listened attentively as Mr Faulding explained how the water where police believe she drowned was particularly shallow. 

It comes as a video obtained by MailOnline shows Mr Faulding's sonar device scanning either side of the riverbank near St. Michael's on Wyre, where Nicola is feared to have fallen in.

The only sound that can be heard on the short clip is the outboard motor on the rear of the inflatable dinghy as the search team slowly meanders along the twisting river. The side scan sonar is able to 'see' to the bottom of the river and any major obstacle in its way would be detected on the film.

Mr Faulding was convinced that if he was to find a body it would have been in the area close to where police say Nicola fell into the water.

The expert took MailOnline to the scene and pointed out that the water was fairly shallow - no deeper than 3ft - and covered with jagged rocks.

He said: 'If this is where Nicola fell in you can see that the water is not particularly deep. There are lots of rocks and if she was in the water she would be able to grab hold of them.

'No one heard any shouts for help and I just can't see how she could drown here. 

'The only possibility is that

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