A call for a crime summit to tackle the problem of cuckooing has been shot down.

It comes as the scourge of criminals targeting vulnerable people is on the rise in North Wales, councillors said.

The practice, where crime gangs befriend vulnerable people before taking over their homes to deal drugs, is becoming a problem in the region, and authorities have been urged to work together to deal with the issue.

Last month’s meeting of Conwy council’s economy and place committee had called on the cabinet to organise a summit to discuss what public bodies could do to prevent further exploitation.

Members of that committee had said they were worried about the rise of cuckooing and anti-social behaviour in their wards and that more needed to be done to fight the crime gangs.

Julie Fallon, Deganwy county councillor and chair of the North Wales Police and Crime Panel, said: “It’s on the increase and some of the worrying things that we have been hearing about is that the targets tend to be young and often looked after children or children leaving care.

“One thing I have raised before is that any discussion around this should include social services and that we make sure there is something in place to protect the most vulnerable.

“It’s across North Wales where this issue of cuckooing is coming from other cities, not just Liverpool and Manchester but London as well.”

But the cabinet agreed that the Community Safety Partnership, where the council meets with other authorities, was the right place to raise the issue.

Council leader Cllr Gareth Jones said: “We have established the board and all the various agencies are around that table including the police, so we do have direct access to make some impact, and if those partnerships cannot make an impact on this issue then I do query what is the point?”