TikToker who tricked police to film Nicola Bulley’s body unmasked

Curtis Arnold, a 34-year-old barber, contributed to a social media frenzy that saw influencers flock to St Michael’s on Wyre in search of the mother of two

A TikToker who filmed police as they pulled Nicola Bulley’s body from the River Wyre has been unmasked as barber Curtis Arnold.

The 34-year-old posted footage of officers searching the water’s edge across several social media channels and later admitted to earning close to £900 in royalties for the posts.

The TikTok account which had been dedicated to coverage of the Nicola Bulley case – spun as “media done differently” – has since been removed but the videos remain on his other social media channels.

Approached by The Sun, Mr Arnold admitted that he was behind the video when asked. “Yes. How did you find me?”, he responded, confessing that he had lied to police and hidden in a field to film the content.

He told the newspaper: "I held the phone as high above me as I could, resting it on fencing.

Police probe the water, searching for Nicola Bulley following her disappearance (PA)

"I couldn’t see a thing but I knew my camera would be recording whatever was happening”, Mr Arnold remarked.

As social media sleuths endeavoured to solve the case, TikTokers including Mr Arnold flocked to St Michael’s on Wyre to look for Nicola Bulley. His account gathered more than 13,000 followers and 100,000 likes.

Re-branding his original YouTube channel, Curtis Cool Stuff, his identity was tracked via his digital footprint.

Following the hysteria surrounding Ms Bulley’s disappearance, TikTok has threatened to remove users who spread misinformation. The social media app was widely criticised for allowing conspiracy theories about the case to circulate during the search.

Dal Babu, a former Met Police superintendent, said that one claim he encountered online stated that the search for Ms Bulley was “not real”, with “actors” brought in to stage the search operation.

Nicola Bulley waslast seen on 27 January (PA Media)

He accused social media companies of creating a “Wild West” of misinformation and called for TikTok to be held accountable.

Responding to the criticism, TikTok said in a statement: “Our thoughts are with Ms Bulley’s family and friends at this difficult time. We have mobilised resources to monitor the evolving conversation about this case.

“We are taking action against violations of our community guidelines, including removing content and accounts, and limiting the reach of some content by making it ineligible for recommendation.”