Judge Thokozile Masipa sentences Oscar Pistorius to six years imprisonment for the 2013 murder of his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp (6th July).

Double amputee athlete Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his then girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius stood and faced the Judge as she announced the sentence at the South African High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.

Pistorius was facing a possible 15-year jail term for shooting Steenkamp through a toilet cubicle door at his home in 2013, but the judge said substantial and compelling circumstances existed in the Olympic runner's case to give him a lesser sentence.

Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June, were present in the courtroom, which was packed with relatives of both Pistorius and Steenkamp and other observers.

In reading out the sentence, Judge Masipa described Pistorius as a "fallen hero".

The judge then ordered a recess to give prosecutors and Pistorius' defence lawyers time to decide if either wanted to lodge an appeal against the sentence.