A TikTok ghoul who tricked police and covertly filmed the removal of Nicola Bulley’s body from the river has been unmasked as a hairdresser from the Midlands. Curtis Arnold, 34, posted footage of officers removing Nicola’s body in an eight-minute video posted on YouTube.
The barber also posted footage of an ashen-faced couple in shock after finding 45-year-old mother-of-two Nicola’s body in reeds by the River Wyre on February 19.
Mr Arnold previously filmed a “possible burial site” in woodland near where Nicola was last seen on January 27 and headlined a string of videos with outrageous smears against her partner Paul Ansell.
With thousands of views, his videos have started to earn him money on YouTube. His “Curtis Media” channels claim to offer journalism “done differently”.
His methods, alongside his footage, have also received criticism.
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Arnold’s most nauseating video from the scene opens with his Go Pro camera, fastened in a harness around his neck, filming a male police officer blocking his path.
He is asked to turn back but tricks the officer into letting him through by claiming he needs to return to his parked car and saying that he is from Blackpool.
As dozens of officers gather and a police helicopter and drone hover overhead, Arnold asks a female colleague on the other side of the cordon: “What’s going on down there? I’ve walked down and he wouldn’t let me pass”.
She also directs him to leave the area but the video then cuts to Arnold filming covertly as officers lift what appears to be an orange body bag. Many viewers reacted with horror to his footage. One said: “This is disgraceful! Imagine if that was your loved one. I hope her family do not see this.”
Mr Arnold has since removed the video from YouTube, but its gruesome impact remains.
Despite best efforts to conceal his identity, Mr Arnold was tracked down to his barber’s shop from his digital footprint after rebranding his channels as “Curtis Media”. When asked if he was behind the video, he said: “Yes, How did you find me?”
He admitted lying to police and crouching in a field to film covertly on his smartphone. He added: “I held the phone as high above me as I could, resting it on fencing.
“I couldn’t see a thing, but I knew my camera would be recording whatever was happening. It wasn’t until I got back to where the mainstream media were gathered that I realised what was on the footage.”
He cheerfully revealed the £716.06 in royalties that he made from YouTube alone, adding: “It is probably £900 by now but it takes a while to come through. My ambition is to be a full-time YouTuber and make a good living from it. The income potential is there and I love doing what I am doing on the channel.”
Mr Arnold is one of a number of Tik Tokers and social media users to flock to St Michael’s on Wyre during the search for Nicola’s body. Many have made videos and posted them online.
Furthermore, despite the criticism, some remain undeterred, including Mr Arnold. He said: I know [the video] has caused a lot of controversy and if it has caused her family any distress, I apologise. If they saw it, it can’t have been a nice thing for them to have seen and I’m sorry about that
“I intend to follow as many breaking news stories as I can in the future and put them on the channel.”
