OVERTURNED shopping trolleys far from their origins, bins overflowing onto the pavements days before collection and gardens neglected to the point of no return.

These are traditional indicators of poverty that can be found in towns and cities across the country.

But scratch the surface of the Arthurlie area of Barrhead and you will see so much more than that.

You will see a proud community which has worked together to improve the lives of its residents.

However, this part of Barrhead is back in the spotlight for less satisfactory reasons, thanks to a new report which has identified intense pockets of child poverty in what was designated as ‘Arthurlie and Dovecothall’.

The report by Professor John McKendrick, of Glasgow Caledonian University, shows that more than half of youngsters in that area live in deprived circumstances.

A child poverty rate of 55 per cent suggests that, for many families, the daily reality involves struggling to put food on the table, a non-existent social life, and no money for clothes or treats.

It is no wonder that the town’s foodbank has noticed an upsurge in demand.

The tragedy of single mum Maigen McClure’s struggle to provide for her son Caleb should serve as a wake-up call to those in power who are failing to help those in need.

She told the Barrhead News: “I see a lot around Barrhead to do with child poverty.

“I have seen a lot of people in the foodbank and I know that my son’s nursery gives presents to parents who are struggling at Christmas and they were giving out food then too.

“I know this because I was one of those who got food from the nursery and I am one of those people at the foodbank.

“I struggle to get things like clothes and shoes for my son.

“A lot of my friends have to go to the council and elsewhere for crisis grants and sometimes have to go without heating their home so they can feed their kids.”

Maigen’s plight undoubtedly provides substance to Professor McKendrick’s research but most residents who spoke to the Barrhead News when we visited Arthurlie this week were eager to highlight improvements to the area in recent times.

They spoke of various community initiatives, good schooling and a commitment to build more social housing.

All of these, they insisted, are helping to make significant inroads into addressing the problems that this area and other parts of Barrhead have experienced.

However, as is the case in so many other parts of Scotland, there remains a disconnect between those who are living comfortably and those who are barely getting by.

Professor McKendrick, whose study on child poverty was carried out on behalf of the Scottish Government, does not think there is one single factor to blame for the difficulties being faced by many families.

He said: “Barrhead is an example of a locality where poverty might not be entirely visible, but it should not be ignored.

“People simply might not notice it – or, if you are the one who is suffering, you will probably just do your best to get by as best you can. You might even hide it.

“What we don’t want to do is write places off.

“People in these areas may have less money or resources but it certainly doesn’t make them bad places to live. It just means that public services need to be targetting them.

“It is about local authorities and the government working just a little harder to give people access to provisions which may not exist for everyone at the moment.”