Oscar Pistorius is “on the verge of suicide” as he is forced to sell off his belongings to fight a charge of premeditated murder, a friend of the Paralympic star has said.

Mr Pistorius, 26, is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp after she was shot dead at his home last month.

The Olympian claims he shot her through a bathroom door thinking she was an intruder.

Mike Azzie, a close friend who Mr Pistorius refers to as Uncle Mike, said the sportsman was a “broken man” after he was tasked with selling his racehorses to raise money to pay for spiralling legal fees.

Speaking in a BBC3 documentary, Oscar Pistorius: What Really Happened?, Mr Azzie said Mr Pistorius regularly talks about Ms Steenkamp as he awaits his next court appearance on 4 June. He said: “He just always seems to mention Reeva and to ask us to pray for her…

“I would say that he is a broken man and I would go as far to say that he would be on the verge of suicide. It really worries me.”

According to the documentary makers, Mentorn Media, police in Johannesburg said they have requested all records of phone calls and messages between Mr Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp on the day she was killed.

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