Lancashire residents slam 'sick' scammers who posted Nicola Bulley pictures on fake dating profile

They said it was an ‘absolutely disgusting’ thing to do, to a family who have ‘just lost their poor mother’.

At least two scam profiles were set up on a British dating website, using a photo of the tragic mum-of-two, which had been taken from a police appeal.

People living in the area where Nicola went missing said the actions are ‘beyond sick’.

The Mirror said it raised the alarm over the scam photos, which were being used on Smooch.com. One profile using Nicola’s face purported to have been set up by a woman called Faustina, 46, while another claimed she was a 41-year-old woman called Elorm.

Some have branded the fake accounts as ‘stupid’.

Violet Louise said: “Pretty dumb to be using the photos of a woman who’s face was all over the news for a few weeks. Who is going to be stupid enough to fall for it?"

Ms Bulley accidentally drowned in the River Wyre in Lancashire on January 27.

The mother-of-two’s body was found 23 days after her disappearance, which sparked a huge search by police, specialist underwater diving teams and members of the public. An inquest in June concluded Ms Bulley fell into the water while walking her dog before suffering “cold water shock”.

It is understood that the accounts have since been taken down and that Ms Bulley’s family’s lawyers have been informed.