Malmesbury community hero helping search for Nicola Bulley

Friends and neighbours of the missing mother-of-two who disappeared more than a fortnight ago, have not given up hope she will be found.

On Monday, well-wishers continued to leave hand-written “messages of hope” that the 45-year-old mortgage adviser will be found unharmed in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, where she vanished on January 27 while walking her dog.

The messages, which first appeared on flower-shaped ribbons on Sunday, have been written on yellow ribbons on a bridge over the River Wyre in the village.

When hearing the recent =news of her disappearance, Malmesbury resident Ben Thornbury, who has no personal connection to the case, set-up a Facebook group in order to help with the search. 

After just a few days the group now stands at 30,000 members and continues to grow daily.

Ben - with the help of his moderation team - has worked hard to make sure the group stays supportive, posting relevant and sensitive information. 

After purchasing a domain name he also created a website, which he is making sure has had all the relevant information on it.

This launched recently and within the first couple of hours had 7,000 plus visits to the site. 

It is hoped that a combination of the information on the website and the facebook group will help to spread the word of Nicola’s disappearance.

"I saw the story and wanted to help in some way I could all the way from Malmesbury," said 17-year-old Ben. 

"The news has hit the nation with shock and worry. 

"In a time of worry and upset the community do always come together to help each other.

"Thanks to this group people are coming forward offering help in many ways.

"I don’t know these people personally who stepped forward but they all have the same goal and that is to bring Nicola home safely. 

"That's what all the group members want as well.

"I cannot thank the team enough for all the hard work they have put in over the last week."

The group can be found - bit.ly/3xm48Ap