Ghouls use photos of tragic mum Nicola Bulley in shocking fake dating profiles

Grieving relatives of Nicola Bulley were last night facing fresh torment after ghouls used photographs of the tragic drowned mum for a dating website scam.

Her loved ones were left reeling after we raised the alarm over fake online profiles featuring her images. One disgusted family friend described the scam as “sick”.

A source told the Mirror: “The family have been made aware of this. They’ve already been through the most horrendous ordeal.”

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Nicola died when she fell into the River Wyre, in Lancashire, while out walking her dog. She was reported missing in January this year, but it took police 23 days to find her body.

The scam photos – taken from a police appeal after the 45-year-old mum of two vanished – were used for profiles set up by users of British dating site Smooch.com.

The profiles are feared to be part of a so-called catfish con, where crooks use bogus photos to lure in lonely men and women. They are then bombarded with demands for money and false promises of meeting up with the person featured.

One profile shows Nicola’s face but says she is a woman called Faustina, 46. Another claims she is a 41-year-old called Elorm. Both are supposedly from London.

The Mirror contacted Venntro Media Group, which runs Smooch.com. Although there was no response at its business address in Slough, Berks, the profiles featuring Nicola’s pictures were no longer on the site last night.