Her last seconds in his words

Sobbing and retching, Oscar Pistorius broke down in the Pretoria High Court yesterday as he described the moment when he realised it was his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, he had shot.

"I sat over her and cried. She was not breathing. I have no idea how long I was there for. I just cried and cried and cried."

For two hours, a tearful Pistorius, 27, hunkered in the witness stand, testified about the minutes leading to the point at which he pulled the trigger.

He said he had woken in the early hours of February 14 last year because of the heat.

"Reeva was awake . she said: 'Baba, go back to sleep.'

"I got up - on my stumps - with my left hand on the bed [to balance]. I went to the balcony to bring in the fans. I closed the curtains. The only light was from an amplifier. Except for that, the room was completely dark."

It was as he returned to bed that he heard the bathroom window slide open, he said.

"I froze. There was nothing between the bedroom and the bathroom. No barrier except the toilet door. I thought there was someone coming.

"The first thing I thought was that I needed to arm myself, to get my gun to protect us."

Pistorius said that he had, on his stumps and hands, gone to his side of the bed and grabbed his holstered gun from under it. Whispering to Steenkamp to get to the floor and phone the police, Pistorius edged towards the passage and the threat.

"I was so scared. I started screaming. I have never screamed like that in my life. I was screaming to Reeva to phone the police, to the intruders to get out of my house.

"I cocked my gun. I thought the intruder could be in the clothes cupboard. I was constantly aware of the threat as I went down the passage . that people could come around the corner at any time."

It was then, he said, that he heard the toilet door slam shut. "I knew the intruders were inside."

Defence lawyer Barry Roux, who had Pistorius demonstrate to the court how he walked on his stumps, led the Blade Runner as he testified about the moment he opened fire.

"As I entered the bathroom I thought the intruders were around the corner. There was no light on, but I could see the window was open. I wasn't sure where the intruders were . in the toilet, around the corner or on a ladder outside the window.

"I peered around the corner, but I saw no one. I retreated backwards and screamed again for Reeva to phone the police."

Unsure of where the "attack" would come from and where to point his gun, he kept looking between the open window and toilet door.

"I heard a noise from the toilet and shot four times. I was screaming for Reeva . my ears ringing. I didn't think she was in the toilet."

Panicking, Pistorius searched his bedroom for Steenkamp, running repeatedly back and forth between the balcony and bathroom, where he smashed open the toilet door with his cricket bat and screamed for help, "for anyone to help me", he said.

"I ripped open the door panel. I saw it was her. I got inside . sat over her. She was not breathing. I have no idea how long I was there for. I just cried and cried and cried."

With Pistorius sobbing, rocking and "drenched in sweat", Roux requested an early adjournment.

Earlier, testifying on the firearms charges against him, Pistorius said that though it was "foolish" to take a gun under a table in a busy restaurant, he was angry that the friend had given him "an unsafe gun".

• For breaking news from the courtroom, follow Times Media reporter Tymon Smith on the twitter handle @oscarstrial or www.timeslive.co.za