Oscar Pistorius's lawyers have failed to block prosecutors' appeal against his acquittal of murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The six-time Paralympic champion is currently in prison serving a five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend at his home in Pretoria, South Africa in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013.

The 28-year-old was cleared of murder last year, but was found guilty of culpable homicide (manslaughter) for shooting dead Steenkamp through a toilet door.

Prosecutors intend to appeal against the conviction, and today Judge Thokozile Masipa ruled in the Johannesburg High Court that the application by Pistorius's lawyers be rejected.

According to BBC News, Masipa said: "In my view, to entertain this application will be tantamount to reviewing my own decision. For one thing there is really nothing new in the submissions by council for the applicant."

Pistorius denied murder during the trial by claiming that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he fired four gunshots.