The Rev John Miller can remember the first heroin overdose in Castlemilk. It was 1972, and the 20-year-old's death stunned his friends and family into a shocked silence.

The Rev John Miller can remember the first heroin overdose in Castlemilk. It was 1972, and the 20-year-old's death stunned his friends and family into a shocked silence.

"The house was full, filled - every room filled - with young people of his age, all his age, standing in utter silence," he recalls. "It was completely new, death out of nowhere."

Over the ensuing three decades, the Glasgow scheme has seen the number of overdoses grow year on year. "And young ones now scarcely keep count of how many friends they've lost. It's part of the picture they live with," he adds.

The drug epidemic is one strand of a social catastrophe Mr Miller has witnessed since he became minister at Castlemilk East Parish church in 1971.

Whereas in 1971 you could walk anywhere in the neighbourhood, the minister argues it has since been atomised by miles of steel fencing, introduced under Safer Cities initiatives, security doors and double-glazing that insulate neighbours from each other.

He is scathing about efforts to regenerate the community which have been top-down and failed to involve them in a meaningful way. Despite this, he remains optimistic about the spirit of Castlemilk people.

"The poor are still aware of each other's needs, they are not acquisitive, they look after each other, they know the difference between good and bad," he said.