Woman tells jury of gun terror in £40m jewel raid

Petra Ehnar, a shop assistant at Graff's jewellers in Mayfair, was forced at gunpoint to empty the store's displays of gems, including a 3.5m diamond necklace, during the raid on August 6, last year.

She was then held with a gun to her back as the robbers made their getaway in a series of vehicles, shooting at anyone who tried to impede their escape, Woolwich Crown Court was told.

Aman Kassaye, 24, and Craig Calderwood, 27, who are alleged to have used professional make-up artists to make them look as if they were in their 60s, deny conspiring with seven other men to carry out the robbery.

Ms Ehnar, who had been working at the New Bond Street store for less than four months, was told she would be killed if she did not carry out the robbers' demands.

She told police: "This was the first I had ever been subjected to an armed robbery and I was petrified. I was thinking I am going to be shot, killed, I had no idea.

"It is the most terrifying experience a person can be put through as you have no control over the situation that you find yourself in."

Ms Ehnar said she grew even more concerned when she thought she heard a security guard shouting as she walked out into the street with Kassaye holding her at gunpoint.

"This worried me because I could still feel the gun being pushed into my back," she said. "This really worried me because I felt the men would shoot, I really did. The next thing I heard was the gun being fired and the noise was so loud.

"I realised I wasn't shot because I was still in one piece."

The jury of eight women and four men was shown mobile phone footage that showed people running for cover as a shot was fired.

Philip Bennetts, for the prosecution, said the victims were "the real centre of this case, not the value of jewels that were taken".

CCTV footage inside the store showed manager Martin Leggatt spread-eagled on the floor with a gun pointed at his head.

Both Kassaye and Calderwood deny conspiracy to rob Graff's jewellers between August 3 and August 7, 2009.

Kassaye also denies kidnap and possession of a handgun and sawn-off shotgun. Calderwood also denies possessing a handgun and sawn-off shotgun.

The trial continues.