A convenience store manager has told a jury of the "petrifying" moment she was tied up during a dawn raid by masked and armed robbers who stole thousands of pounds.

Jennifer Delgado, who suffers from claustrophobia, said she was "a mess" following the robbery at the branch of McColl's in Lordswood on March 5 last year.

Ms Delgado told Maidstone Crown Court she initially thought a joke was being played on her when she was confronted by one of the raiders and tried to push him aside.

But she soon realised the man was wearing a balaclava and armed with an axe.

Becoming visibly upset as she gave evidence at Maidstone Crown Court, Ms Delgado said: "He said: 'Give me the money and I won't hurt you.' I just said: 'Don't hurt me, I'll give you the money'."

The court heard about £5,000 was taken by the two men from the store in Admirals Walk.

It was just one of nine robberies and one attempted robbery committed between February last year and March this year.

They involved two men, wearing balaclavas and often dressed in what were described as boiler suits, armed with either an axe, sledgehammer or baseball bats.

Shop staff also had their hands or feet bound with cable ties.

All but one of the raids happened at branches of newsagents owned by the McColl's chain.

The Lordwood store was in fact targeted twice - on March 5 and April 29 last year - as was the store in The Alma, Gravesend, on March 3 and 31 this year.

The other raids were carried out at The Co-Op in Parkwood, Rainham, on February 8, 2012; McColl's in Orion Road, Rochester, on September 26, 2012; Martin's newsagent's in The Row, New Ash Green, on December 18, 2012; McColl's in The Singleton Centre in Ashford on February 11, this year; and McColl's in Martin's Square, Larkfield, on March 11.

The attempted robbery happened at Martins newsagents in Parkwood Green, Rainham, on September 3, last year.

"I pushed him and said: 'Stop messing about' and then I realised it was a man standing there with a balaclava and an axe in his hand..." - manager Jennifer Delgado

Prosecutor Iestyn Morgan told the court Duncan Snape, 41, of Chapel Yard, Wandsworth, in London, could be linked to the robberies through DNA and mobile phone evidence.

It is alleged he took part in the raids with 42-year-old Robert Powsey, also known as Robert Russell, of Peacock Rise, Walderslade.

Snape denies conspiracy to rob. Powsey, however, is not on trial.

Ms Delgado had arrived at work at 5am and was alone at the store. She was carrying newspapers from the rear of the storeroom when she was confronted by one of the robbers.

"A man appeared from my right and he more or less fell in on me," she told the court. "To begin with I thought it was the newspaper delivery guy because he was prone to playing jokes.

"I pushed him and said: 'Stop messing about' and then I realised it was a man standing there with a balaclava and an axe in his hand."

After demanding money, the robber, who was said to have an Irish accent, grabbed Ms Delgado by her shoulder and directed her into the office.

A second man had by now also appeared and was armed with a sledgehammer, she said. Ms Delgado told the court she was petrified and could only remember he was wearing dark clothing and a balaclava.

She unlocked the safe and was then made to kneel on the floor as the first robber started to take the money and place it in a holdall.

"I felt one of them step over me and I realised he was cutting the phone wire," she added. "I was just looking at the floor, I was too scared to do anything else.

"The first man then told me to lie on the floor because he wanted to tie me up. Because the office was very small I said I didn't have enough room. So he took me out into the corridor and made me lie on the floor.

"I did what he told me and kept saying: 'Please don't hurt me.' He tied my feet together and then told me to put my hands together. I said: 'Please, I'm claustrophobic, don't tie me too tight'.

"He tied me loosely with black cable ties and they then left the building. They must have gone out the back door. I was looking at the floor because I wasn't going to look anywhere.

"I heard a door bang and just stayed on the floor for a few minutes. I managed to get my hands free from the cable ties and then I cut the straps on my feet."

Ms Delgado then closed and secured the back door. Her deputy manager arrived five minutes later and the police were called.

She told the court the axe wielded by the first robber appeared to be new as the blade was "shiny".

Asked by the prosecutor how she reacted to the raid, Ms Delgado's became upset and replied: "I was a mess."

At the end of her evidence, Judge Jeremy Carey thanked her and said: "It must have been absolutely terrifying for you."

The trial continues.