Leonardo thieves 'told guide to obey or be killed'

Alison Renwick, 25, said she was left "very shocked" after one of them approached her from behind, covered her mouth and told her to lie on the ground.

Jurors heard he men then removed the painting, The Madonna Of The Yarnwinder, from the walls of Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway and left the building with it.

Another tour guide told the High Court in Edinburgh how she saw a man "guarding" the artwork with an axe in his hand before they disappeared out of a window.

The evidence emerged as five men went on trial accused of demanding 4.25m for the safe return of the da Vinci masterpiece. It is alleged they did so knowing the painting had been taken in a robbery at the stately home on August 27, 2003.

Five men are charged with either conspiring to extort or attempting to extort the money from the late Duke of Buccleuch, his son and the insurers of the artwork.

The five are: Marshall Ronald, 53, of Skelmersdale, Lancashire; Robert Graham, 57, of Ormskirk, Lancashire; John Doyle, 61, also of Ormskirk; Calum Jones, 45, from Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire; and David Boyce, 63, from Airdrie in Lanarkshire. All five deny the charges.

Ms Renwick told the trial she was a tour guide in the staircase hall at the castle on August 27, 2003.

She recalled how two men arrived at 11am when the doors opened to the public, and found it "strange" that they had arrived so promptly.

When she tried to talk to them, they did not seem interested in what she had to say, she said. "He came from behind and put his hand over my mouth. He told me I had to lie down on the ground or he would kill me."

She said she was on the ground and could hear them remove the painting from the wall before leaving with the artwork.

The witness told prosecutor Simon Di Rollo QC she was left "very shocked".

The court was shown CCTV pictures of two men and Ms Renwick agreed that they looked like the men she had encountered.

Another tour guide, Sarah Skene, described how she heard a "commotion" in the next room, and hearing another guide say: "Please don't do it, retreat, retreat."

Ms Skene, 73, said she went into the staircase gallery where she saw "a male standing in front of the painting with an axe in his hand". She said he was guarding the picture as the other man pulled it off its mounting.

The men are accused of conspiring together, and with other unknown people, to extort 4.25m from the Duke of Buccleuch, his late father, and from London-based insurers Hiscox UK for the return of the painting. It is claimed they put them in a state of "fear and alarm and apprehension" the painting would not be returned or would be damaged or destroyed if the money was not paid.

The five men are accused of meeting in Glasgow on July 30, 2007 to discuss the alleged

extortion and agree to carry it out.

Prosecutors say Ronald contacted a loss adjuster believed to be acting for the painting's insurers on August 10, 2007 and stated the artwork could be returned within 72 hours.

Between that date and October 4, 2007, he is said to have communicated with undercover law enforcement officers he thought were acting for the duke and his family, warning them "volatile individuals" were involved who "would do something very silly" if the police were informed

Prosecutors allege Ronald said the masterpiece would not be returned unless 2m was deposited in an account at Marshall Solicitors, formerly known as Marshall Gilby Solicitors, and a further 2.25m was placed in a Swiss bank account. The accused deny conspiring to extort the 4.25m and an alternative charge of attempted extortion.

All five also face a second charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The trial continues..