Detective leading Oscar Pistorius case dropped as he faces seven attempted murder charges

The detective leading the Oscar Pistorius case has been dropped after it emerged he is facing seven charges of attempted murder himself.

Hilton Botha, who has given evidence against the Paralympian during his bail hearing this week, is scheduled to appear in court in May.

Police Brigadier Neville Malila said Botha and two other police officers fired shots while trying to stop a mini-van in an incident believed to have happened in 2011.

The three were arrested, according to reports, but the charges were initially dropped before dramatically being reinstated yesterday.

The extraordinary twist comes as Pistorius waits to discover whether he will be granted bail after being charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He has admitted shooting the model, 29, but claims he did so thinking she was a burglar or burglars, who were in the bathroom.

He adds that he opened fire in the dark because he was too scared to turn a light on. Realising his mistake, he broke the door down with a cricket bat and carried her downstairs, he said.

On Wednesday, Botha was forced to admit that the prosecution had no evidence challenging the double-amputee Olympian's claim that he killed his girlfriend accidentally, as well as to a number of police blunders in the investigation.

He was also laughed at in court for claiming the world-famous Paralympian could go on the run.