A Faversham million pound lottery winning couple were targeted by two burglars - one armed with a knife - a court has heard.

The raiders posed as pizza delivery drivers and then barged their way inside the house in Larksfield Road.

Once inside, Gary Westcott and pal Matthew Poole demanded money and then fled with £55,000 in cash, a jury at Maidstone Crown Court was told.

But prosecutor Stephen Earnshaw revealed one of the burglars was a cousin of millionaire Merissa Smedley.

Poole, 33, of Alexandra Road, Sheerness, and Westcott, 39, of Rochdale, have denied aggravated burglary and Poole has also pleaded NOT guilty to possessing a Stanley knife during the attack.

The prosecutor said that Wescott has admitted taking part in the break-in but denies his co-accused had a knife.

Mr Earnshaw said: "This is a somewhat unusual case because Westcott was known to Ms Smedley. She is his cousin and she had known him for some time."

"If you call the Old Bill you are dead..."

The jury were shown footage taken from a door camera which showed men arriving at 8pm on September 15 last year.

One of the men shouted "pizza...pizza" before the door was opened by Wayne Cheeseman, who had previously won £1m on a National Lottery scratchcard.

Mr Earnshaw said the couple hadn't told many people about the win just "relatively close friends and family members".

He added: "But it's not always as easy to keep that quiet is it?"

The court heard how the couple used some of the money to buy a sophisticated doorbell which recorded images when pressed.

During the 45 second footage, a female voice can be heard screaming: "Don't hurt him!" and a man's voice saying: "Take it."

The prosecution allege that Mr Cheeseman was taken upstairs where a bag with £55,000 in cash was taken away by the men.

Mr Earnshaw said that although Mr Cheeseman never saw a knife, Ms Smedley is expected to tell the jury she saw Poole with a Stanley knife.

She also had two mobiles taken from her as she attempted to alert the authorities.

As they fled the scene, Westcott allegedly told the couple: "If you call the Old Bill you are dead."

The prosecutor added police arrested him 12 days after the incident and Poole was stopped by police on September 30.

The jury is expected to view messages on WhatsApp in which the prosecution claim the raid was discussed.

They heard how it was Miss Smedley who bought the winning scratchcard for Mr Cheeseman from her local shop.

Asked about his win, Mr Cheeseman said he had not "gone public" about his good fortune.

On the day of the raid the couple had only been at home for about 15 minutes after visiting Oxford to buy a motorcycle.

Mr Cheeseman told the jury it was not unusual to have takeaway delivery drivers knocking at his home looking for his neighbour's house.

"I saw two people, masked up. As soon as I opened the door I realised what was going to happen.

"I tried to slam the door but it was too late and they barged in. They pushed their way in and pushed me against my tumble dryer.

"The tall one asked really aggressively: 'Where's the money?' He must have known I had that because no one knew. I said 'Take it, just take it'.

"I was scared. I went upstairs and the taller man was behind me. But he pushed me out of the way and took the money. He knew where it was.

"All I could hear was screaming. I just couldn't help her. She was my girlfriend and I was stuck. I just couldn't do nothing."

Mr Cheeseman said apart from the money the raiders took his Samsung Galaxy Note 10, and Miss Smedley's iPhone XR.

But they ignored gold jewellery and other cash, he said.

"All they wanted was the bag. I had all my gold on the bed and money laying on the bed but they didn't want that," he told the court.

"It was quick - grab and gone. He knew where it was.

"After taking the phones the little guy said 'If you call the police we will come back and kill you.'

"They walked out the front door and I slammed it."

Mr Cheeseman told the court he had bought the security system because he "wanted to be safe and make sure no one came to my door".

The trial continues.

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