Travelling beggars 'making £500 a week' in Durham

But they have also warned that “in most cases” those people thought to be homeless could actually be travelling into the city centre from other areas of the region.

Councillors have also suggested that some people could be collecting hundreds of pounds every week as a result of their efforts on the streets.

• Letters: 'Shocked and a little intimidated by the many beggars and drunken groups in Durham City'

“I’m aware this is on everyone’s radar and it is being addressed,” said Cllr Lucy Hovvels, Durham County Council cabinet member for Adult and Health Services.

• Letters: 'Durham, once the toast of Bill Bryson, is now a historic toilet full of filth and undesirables'

“There is work going on there, we’re aware it is a problem and it is a multi-agency problem – I don’t think it can be addressed overnight.”

Cllr Hovvels was speaking at a meeting of the county council’s safer and stronger communities overview and scrutiny committee.

She was responding to a question from Liberal Democrat councillor David Stoker, who accused the council of failing to take responsibility for the problem which, he claimed, saw “people pretending to be homeless, [getting] plastered and [making] a nuisance of themselves”.

He also warned this could begin to have an impact on Durham’s tourism sector if not addressed.

Cllr John Turnbull said he had been told people coming from outside Durham could make up to £500 a week begging in the city.

“It’s high on everyone’s agenda and there’s been a number of meetings about identifying these people and who they are,” Jane Sunter, strategy manger with the council’s public health department, told the meeting.

“People perceive that these people are homeless, but they’re not in most cases – it’s a small cohort causing issues in most cases and visibly using illegal substances on the street.”

Ms Sunter also said it could be difficult to get such people to access drug and alcohol treatment or other services if they did not already want to, but said the issue in Durham was not as big as in other areas, such as Newcastle.

She added that “people giving the money tend to be students”, but explained that campaigns were being launched targeting the university to address the “misconception” giving money is helpful.