British singer Rita Ora threatened to kill a thief who broke into her northwest London home in the middle of the night, a court has heard.

She made the threat during a frantic 999 call in which she sobbed: "Oh my God I don't have a knife. I’m scared to go downstairs."

The former X-Factor judge (25) and her sister, Elena, were both asleep upstairs when two men broke into the three-storey house.

Charaf Elmoudden (26) and an accomplice allegedly made off with jewellery, phones, computers, bags and clothes worth £200,000 (€260,012).

Ora told Harrow Crown Court she had gone to bed at around 2.30am after watching a film with a girlfriend.

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

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

After locking the bedroom door, Ora made a 999 call which was played to the jury.

"I will kill him"

She was heard screaming "Don't you f***ing come up these stairs. I will f*** you up - you f***ing hear me? 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***ing hell I'm scared to go downstairs."

Ora was also 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 and asked to leave the court.

Elena said she woke at around 5.50am as one of the burglars rifled through her bedroom.

"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.

"I said 'hello' and was really confused and he turned around and looked dead in my eyes. I went to scream 'Oh my God' but couldn't really scream because I became overwhelmed with fear."

Elmoudden, of Muswell Hill, north London, denies a charge of burglary on November 28th last year. The trial continues.