Pistorius Bailed Ahead Of Murder Sentencing

The runner, who faces 15 years in jail, laughs and jokes at the courtroom where he was ordered to remain under house arrest.

Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail as he waits to be sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The athlete's initial conviction of culpable homicide - manslaughter in other countries - was overturned last week by the Supreme Court of Appeal, after five judges unanimously ruled that Judge Thokozile Masipa had made a "fundamentally flawed" judgment.

With the courts about to go into Christmas recess and no new sentencing date for his murder conviction set, there had been confusion about whether he would remain under house arrest at his uncle's home.

At the latest hearing in Pretoria's High Court, it was ruled that Pistorius was not a flight risk even though he now faces a minimum jail sentence of 15 years.

Granting bail, Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba said one of the conditions is that he hand over any passports and will not be allowed to apply for any passports or travel documents until the case has concluded. Other conditions include house arrest and electronic monitoring.

He will be allowed to leave his uncle's house between 7am and midday, after the judge said it was not "in the interests of justice" to ban him completely from leaving the house. He will only be allowed to travel within 20km of the property.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford was in court and said the 29-year-old athlete appeared "extremely relaxed". She added: "He was smiling a lot, laughing and joking with his friends and the defence team."

The runner was granted bail in March 2013, a month after he shot Ms Steenkamp dead on Valentine's Day at their home.

In October this year, he was released from jail after serving a year of his five-year sentence. It is understood Pistorius intends to go to the Constitutional Court as a final resort against his new murder conviction and both sides will return to court on 18 April to find out whether the court will hear the appeal.

Any appeal could take many months, with costs running well over a million rand (£45,000). It is not clear who would pay for this, as Pistorius' lawyer told the court the athlete was struggling financially. Bail was set at 10,000 rand (£457).

In an affidavit filed in court, Pistorius said: "I have lost all of my assets and only possess my personal assets."