Graff assistant 'feared she was shot' in gems robbery

Staff were forced to hand over items of jewellery at gunpoint

A shop assistant held at gunpoint during a raid on a jewellery store feared she had been shot when the robbers fled, a court has heard.

Petra Ehnar told Woolwich Crown Court she thought a bullet had hit her when the robbers fired shots outside Graff's in Mayfair, central London.

Aman Kassaye, 24, and Craig Calderwood, 27, are alleged to have entered Graff's and stolen gems at gunpoint.

Nine people deny conspiring to rob the store on 6 August 2009.

Ms Ehnar was forced to empty the display of gems then made to walk out of the store with the men as they left, the jury heard.

She told the court that as the two robbers left the store they held a gun to her back.

For a second I didn't know if it was the gun which was behind me, I was terrified Petra Ehnar

She said: "We came out on the street, I feel people watching, I have a feeling that people know what's going on.

"I just wanted them to get away quickly and easily, and for me to be left.

"I thought, if anything goes wrong, they might shoot me.

"We started walking to the right, I felt the gun at my back, then I heard screaming, somebody shouting 'emergency'.

"There was some sort of commotion and panic in the street, followed by a gun shot. For a second I didn't know if it was the gun which was behind me, I was terrified."

Earlier, Ms Ehnar told how the raiders came into the store dressed in suits.

"I thought 'They're dressed very similarly, maybe something's not right'," she said.

"They shouted 'This is a raid, everyone down on the floor'. At the same time they both pulled out guns.

When asked what her concern was, she said: "Life or death, I was terrified."

Asked about suggestions that the raid could have been an inside job, she said the idea was "obscene".

The nine defendants, who all deny conspiracy to rob, are:

Aman Kassaye, 24, of no fixed address

Craig Calderwood, 27, of no fixed address

Solomun Beyene, 25, of Lilestone Street, Marylebone, north-west London

Clinton Jamal Mogg, 42, of Westby Road, Bournemouth, Dorset

Courtney Lawrence, 31, of Ladbroke Grove, west London

Gregory Jones, 30, of Elgin Avenue, Maida Vale, west London

Benjamine McFarlane, 22, of Paveley Street, Marylebone, north-west London

David Joseph, 23, of Flaxman Road, Loughborough Junction, south-east London

Thomas Thomas, 45, of Penrhyn Road, Kingston upon Thames, south-west London

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

Mr Calderwood also denies possessing a handgun and sawn-off shotgun.

The trial continues.