THE FAMILY of a Hampshire schoolboy who was one of 20 children shot dead at a US school have revealed they are selling their home because they cannot face living close to the house of the gunman.

Dylan Hockley, who was autistic, was gunned down while cradled in the arms of his special education teacher Anne Marie Murphy, 52, when Adam Lanza went on a rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Connecticut.

His parents, Ian and Nicole, who had lived in Eastleigh with their sons Dylan and eight-year-old Jake before moving to the US two-years-ago, are reported to be selling their home in Newtown as they cannot cope with driving past the home of the gunman every day.

Mrs Hockley said: “You can't drive up your driveway every day and see the house of a person who took your son's life and who brought so much pain to so many people.”

The news came after they joined other parents to launch the Sandy Hook Promise group, which is calling for an open minded discussion to “make our communities and our nation a safer, better place”.

The couple added that they plan to stay in Newtown and also revealed how Dylan’s older brother Jake is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his sibling, asking many questions about why this happened.

One of the ways that the Hockley family is coping is by fundraising in Dylan’s name for programs that support children with autism and special needs.