Lancashire Police conformed last night that the body found in the river was of Nicola (Picture: PA/AFP)

Pressure is mounting for an urgent inquiry into Lancashire Police’s handling of Nicola Bulley’s disappearance after it was dog walkers who discovered her body – not officers.

For more than three weeks, divers, helicopters, boats, sonar equipment and sniffer dogs searched the area in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre.

Her body was found on an unremarkable stretch of the river, a mile of where the mum-of-two was last seen on January 27.

It is located a mile or so outside the village, close to where a tree had fallen on its side half in and half outside the water, with branches and undergrowth partially submerged.

Some have now questioned how the police missed Nicola’s body in the river for 23 days despite all the extensive searches.

Former Scotland Yard detective, Peter Bleksley, criticised the already under-fire force for not finding it earlier.

Assistant chief constable Peter Lawson after speaking at a press conference outside Lancashire Police Headquarters in Hutton (Picture: PA)

He told Sky News: ‘The bottom line is Lancashire Police and all their experts and all their doctrines did not find Nicola. Two people walking along a river bank did.

‘Leading experts in their field helped with the search in terms of tide and river movements.

‘River movements can be complex but [Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith] also went on to say that a nationally-recognised searching doctrine had been followed.’

He added that police were vague in their statements to the media and the public from the start of the search for the missing woman.

A map showing where two dog walkers spotted the body (Picture: Metro.co.uk)

Flowers and a message tied to a bridge over the River Wyre where police recovered Nicola’s body on Sunday (Picture: PA)

But Graham Wettone, a former Met officer and commentator, said the consensus among underwater specialists was that police had done as good a job as possible, taking into account the time of year, weather and state of the water.

He told the Times a body could be moved by undercurrents and the tide, adding that visibility in the water was very poor.

‘Tidal rivers like that might look calm but they are deep in places,’ Mr Wettone said.

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‘Objects can get lodged in holes and crevices that are impossible to search. You can barely see your hand in front of your face.’

Widespread criticism about the disclosure of Nicola’s alcohol dependency and menopausal issues is also still looming over Lancashire Police’s head.

Home secretary Suella Braverman stressed she is not ‘wholly satisfied’ with the force’s explanations for revealing the personal information last Wednesday, after personally grilling chief constable Chris Rowley.

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Nicola’s body was found not by police, but by two dog walkers.