Rita Ora threatens to kill thief in 999 call, court hears

Jewellery, bags and iPhones were among the items taken from the X Factor judge's home

Singer Rita Ora threatened to kill a thief in a frantic 999 call during a £200,000 raid on her home, a court has heard.

The former X Factor judge, 25, and her sister, Elena, were both asleep upstairs when two men broke into the house in a targeted attack.

During the call she told the operator: "Oh my God I don't have a knife, I know they're going to come upstairs."

Charaf Elmoudden, 26, denies a charge of burglary on November 28 last year.

Elena woke up at about 05:50 GMT to find a man rifling through her bedroom before her sister phoned the police, Harrow Crown Court was told.

Rita Ora, who gave evidence from behind a curtain, said she was woken by a scream and heard her sister running up the stairs.

"She just ran up the stairs then she jumped on my bed and started screaming," she said.

Rita Ora and her sister Elena can be heard on the 999 call

Rita Ora can be heard swearing and making threats on the 999 call after locking herself in her room with her sister.

She later asked the operator: "What do you want me to do now? I will kill him."

The singer, who gave evidence from behind a curtain, broke down in tears after the recording was played.

She said: "That phone call freaked me out a bit - give me a moment."

'Overwhelmed with fear'

Mr Elmoudden and an accomplice allegedly made off with jewellery, iPhones, Apple Mac computers, bags and clothes from the singer's four-bedroom property in north-west London.

Elena described being "overwhelmed with fear" when she saw the intruder.

"At one point he was an arm's length away which was really scary because it means he was looking at me directly while I was asleep," she said

The thief grabbed a jewellery box and "whatever else he could" before dashing out of the house, Elena said.

Prosecutor Mark Kinsey said her house was deliberately chosen by the thieves because they knew she lived there.

Mr Elmoudden, of Sydney Road, Muswell Hill, north London, appeared in the dock wearing jeans and a white shirt.

He told police when he was arrested: "I haven't done anything wrong, you can cell site my phone."

He claims he was at home with his partner at the time of the burglary.

Elena Ora picked him out in an identity parade on 15 January.

"I wouldn't forget that face ever," she said.

The trial continues.