Police have traced a dog walker who was seen near the spot where Nicola Bulley went missing.

Lancashire Police said the woman, who they wanted to speak to as a witness, was wearing a red and white coat with a fur hood, light-coloured trousers and a light bobble hat. She was walking a small, white dog.

She was seen on CCTV on Allotment Lane at around 8.48am on Friday January 27, close to where the missing 45-year-old mortgage adviser was last seen in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.

The woman was also seen near the gate at the end of Allotment Lane.

The force said they want to speak to the woman as a witness and nothing more, and say there is nothing to suggest any third-party involvement in Ms Bulley’s disappearance.

Ms Bulley is white, 5ft 3in, with light brown shoulder-length hair. She speaks with an Essex accent.

She was last seen wearing a long black gilet jacket with a hood, black jeans and olive-green ankle wellies. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.