Unarmed Rita Ora bluffed she would kill intruder to protect sister, court hears

Rita Ora bravely protected her sister and threatened to "f**k up" a thief in a £200,000 raid on the singer's 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 three-storey house in a targeted attack.

Charaf Elmoudden, 26, 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 woke up at around 5.50am to find a man rifling through her bedroom before Ora phoned the police.

The singer sobbed "I don't have a knife" and threatened to kill the thieves in a frantic 999 call, which was played to a jury at Harrow Crown Court.

She was heard screaming "Don't you f**king come up these stairs. I will f**k you up - you f**king hear me?" after locking herself in her room with her sister.

"Oh my God I don't have a knife, I know they're going to come upstairs.

"What do I do - what do I do - oh my God.

"F**king hell I'm scared to go downstairs."

Ora was heard saying to Elena during the 999 call: "At least he didn't touch you.

"What are we going to do? We need to have a backup plan."

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

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

"That phone call freaked me out a bit - give me a moment," she added.

She said she watched a movie with a girlfriend before going to bed at around 2.30am.

"I went to sleep and was woken up by a scream," she added.

"I was half asleep then woke up and heard my sister running up the stairs.

"I opened the door... she just ran up the stairs then she jumped on my bed and started screaming."

The singer was escorted out of the courtroom before putting on a pair of large sunglasses in the foyer and leaving through a back entrance.

Elena, who also gave evidence behind a curtain, described the moment the intruder "looked dead in my eyes" after she confronted him.

"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 added.

"I said hello and was really confused and he turned around and looked at me.

"He looked dead in my eyes.

"I went to scream 'Oh my God' but couldn't really scream because I became overwhelmed with fear."

Ora had returned to the semi-detached house she shares with her family at around midnight on November 27 last year and was asleep in her bedroom on the top floor during the raid, the court was told.

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

He added: "That address was targeted because that address was known to contain a large amount of valuable items.

"The property belonged to the recording artist and actress Rita Ora - her and her sister and another lady were present at the time."

He added: "They knew whose address that was and it was targeted."

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

He denies the charge of burglary on November 28 last year.

The trial continues.