Nicola Bulley’s inquest had additional security over ‘armchair …
Holding the inquest into the death of Essex mum Nicola Bulley cost the local authority more than £11,000 more than a 'standard' inquest, it has been revealed. Mother-of-two Nicola, 45, drowned after accidentally falling into cold water.
Ms Bulley, 45, originally from South Woodham Ferrers, vanished after dropping off her daughters, six and nine, at school, and taking her usual dog walk along the River Wyre in St Michael’s, Lancashire, on January 27.
Ms Bulley’s mobile phone, still connected to a work Teams call, was found on a bench overlooking the water. Her body was found in the river about a mile from the bench on February 19.
Lancashire County Council had to spend thousands of pounds on additional security measures amid fears 'armchair detectives' would disrupt the inquest, LancsLive has reported[2]. There were fears people would disrupt the proceedings trying to film for social media, as they had interfered with the police[3] investigation by filming at the site where Nicola went missing.
Private security firm FGH provided guards to man the doors of the building and the rooms inside while one was even stationed at Preston Coroner's Court in Fulwood in case anybody decided to turn up there. The majority of coroner's officers and clerks were involved in the running of the inquest and several other events had to be moved elsewhere at cost.
LancsLive understands the cost to the coroner's office of the additional expert evidence and investigations into the circumstances of Nikki's death ran into tens of thousands of pounds. In the run-up to the inquest the coroner's court had been inundated with phone calls and letters from individuals who put forward their own theories.
LancsLive can now reveal that Lancashire County Council was forced to spend a total of £11,049.70 in order to hold the inquest at County Hall. This included:
- FGH Security staffing: £4,114.80
- Security sundries (Bags, Tags, lanyards ,badges, barrier hire): £378.72
- Auditel Engineer: £1,600.00
- Catering: £331.18
- Relocation of pre booked events and meetings: £3,675.00
- Traffic management team: £950
The council wasn't charged for additional police patrols.