A friend of Oscar Pistorius has revealed in court that the Paralympic athlete asked someone else to take the blame for him following a gunshot incident in a restaurant.

The 27-year-old is on trial in Pretoria for allegedly murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot dead through a bathroom door at his home on Valentine's Day last year.

The double amputee has pleaded not guilty to murder, maintaining that he mistook the South African model for an intruder when he fired the shots.

Pistorius has also been hit with two gun-related charges, which includes an incident at a restaurant, where the athlete allegedly fired a shot under the table while with a group of friends.

According to The Guardian, boxer Kevin Lerena, who is a friend of Pistorius, took to the stand to describe the Paralympian as an "icon", and went on to claim: "A shot went off in the restaurant. Then there was complete silence. I looked down. I was in shocked. Where my foot was, I saw a hole in the floor."

Mr Lerena went on to say that Pistorius apologised and insisted that it was a "mistake" before asking friend Darren Fresco to take the blame for him because of his media profile.

Mr Lerena told the court that Fresco, who allegedly passed the gun under the table to Pistorius, did take responsibility for the incident.

The alleged accident is said to have occurred around one month before Steenkamp's death.