New information here about how the dog was found
Police hunting missing mum search river & perimeter of deserted house
Snipped for clarity -
Meanwhile, a business owner who raised the alarm about Ms Bulley's disappearance has spoken for the first time of the moment she came across her 'worried' dog by the side of a river.
The woman, who did not want be named, spotted brown springer spaniel Willow running free on the river bank on Friday morning.
She also found Nicola's mobile phone on a bench by the side of the river, under a tree which has a sign warning of deep water nailed to it.
Bizarrely, Willow was running free and the woman found the dog's harness on the floor next to the river.
She called her daughter-in-law who called Nicola's long-term partner Paul, who dialled 999.
The woman, who runs a business in picturesque St Michaels on Wyre, said she knew of Nicola and hoped nothing 'bad' had happened to her.
Speaking today, she said: 'I saw the dog and I recognised it, but I suddenly couldn't think whose dog it was.
'There was a mobile phone on the bench and there was also something between the bench and the river so I went and looked, and it was a dog harness.
'The dog looked worried so I tied her up and rushed home as I had to go to an appointment.
'I then went and spoke to my daughter-in-law and she immediately knew who the dog was, alerted the woman's partner and that was it - the police were on it.'