Diving specialist hits back after Nicola Bulley BBC documentary claimed he caused 'false alarm'

The diving specialist who was involved in finding Nicola Bulley has hit back at his portrayal in a new documentary around her case.

Peter Faulding has taken to social media to clear his name after he says that he and his team were portrayed 'unfairly' in the BBC documentary that was released on Thursday (3 October).

The Search for Nicola Bulley hit screens across the UK this week, in which Faulding was accused of creating a 'false alarm' to family and loved ones as he claimed that the missing mother wasn't in the river.

Bulley disappeared back in January 2023 after dropping her kids off at school and taking her dog for a walk along a Lancashire river.

Nicola Bulley went missing on 27 January 2023 (PA)

The last text that she sent out was also revealed during an inquest last year, as she texted fellow mum Lucy about arranging a playdate with her daughter, to which she replied: "I said my daughter would love to come and play."

At 8:59am on 27 January, 2023, Nicola responded, confirming a time with a smiley face, while Lucy also revealed that a few of the mums had plans to meet for drinks later that day.

It was confirmed following a post-mortem though, that she had accidentally fallen into the water, drowned and died before being found weeks after she disappearance.

But three days into the search, Faulding suspected the involvement of a third party, stating to reporters at the time: “I said that if Nicola is here, I'd find her, if Nicola was in that river, I would have found her, I can guarantee you that, and she's not there.”

Three weeks later, Bulley's body was recovered from the river, though in a YouTube video posted later on, Faulding claimed he found evidence that her body was in the river by using sonar after just six minutes into the search, before police ignored him.

Faulding claims that he found the body after just six minutes, contrary to his earlier comments (PA)

On Friday morning (4 October), he took to X and posted a link to a statement, writing: “It is with deep regret that I have had to release these documents and images to defend myself and my team’s professional reputation.”

He posted the statement on the Specialist Group International Underwater Search Team website, which said: “The BBC Documentary ‘Finding Nicola’ which aired on Thursday, October 3 has once again portrayed myself and my team unfairly and I want to set the record straight.

“It is with regret that I feel the need to release this information to the public, evidence that my search for Nicola Bulley was sadly successful, but was not fully investigated or disclosed to the public.”

He continued: “My statement that ‘if Nicola was there, I would have found her’ comes from nearly three decades of experience.

“Since 1999, I have pioneered the use of side scan sonar for forensic and underwater search in the UK. I make no apologies for being confident in my and my team’s skills.

“I stand by my previous statement outlining our version of events that I located the body of Nicola Bulley at 10.34 on 7th February within 6 minutes."

Bulley's disappearance made national headlines last year (Family Handout/PA Wire)

Faulding added that it was 'never our intention' to cause any issues with the investigation or the family, as he stands by the belief that his findings have 'not been thoroughly investigated', claiming that police never requested his sonar data.

“Without this very important data, no information to support the images would be available and no conclusions would be possible to make," he claims. "Yet, unnamed experts made conclusions in the College of Policing Report based on basic PDF images alone."

The diving specialist also released images that are allegedly of these sonar scans, showing the shape of a body in the river in the 'fetal position' on 7 February, almost two weeks before her body was discovered on 19 February.

A review into the handling of the search in November 2023 suggested that he 'caused unwarranted distress and false alarm' to the family', while the report suggested that he caused 'public confusion' over her appearance.

The BBC declined to comment when approached by LADbible.