Oscar Pistorius recounts night of killing

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has begun to describe in court the moments leading up to the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The athlete denies deliberately shooting dead Ms Steenkamp in his home on Valentine's Day last year, arguing he mistook her for an intruder.

He said he was overcome with fear after hearing a noise from the bathroom.

Earlier he cried when describing Valentine's Day gifts they were to give each other.

On his first day on the stand, he made a tearful apology to Ms Steenkamp's family.

If found guilty, the 27 year old athlete could face life imprisonment.

Describing hearing the noise, he told his murder trial in a voice trembling with emotion:"That's the moment everything changed".

"I thought that there was a burglar that was gaining entry to my home," he said.

The athlete, 27 , said he wanted to protect Ms Steenkamp and went to get his gun.

"I whispered to Reeva to get down and phone the police," he said.

Shortly afterwards, he retched as a photograph of her body was briefly shown on a screen in court.

He also faces charges illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, which he denies.

There are no juries at trial in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decide by the judge, assisted by two assessors.