Charlene and Letisha were shot three times

Cheryl Shaw, 19, was shot alongside her cousin Charlene Ellis, 18, and their friend Letisha Shakespeare, 17, at a New Year party in Birmingham in 2003.

Miss Shaw told Leicester Crown Court about the drive-by shooting outside a hairdressing salon in Aston.

Five Birmingham men deny two counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

In tears

Miss Shaw broke down in tears as she told the court on Wednesday of the moment she learnt of Charlene Ellis's death.

She said: "I just was in shock and I was confused about her and I just could not believe that it was true."

Miss Shaw said she and the two girls went to the party at the Uniseven salon in Birchfield Road on 2 January.

They stepped outside twice for fresh air, the second time being when the shooting took place.

Miss Shaw said she noticed a red Ford Mondeo car driving past and saw a person wearing a balaclava and what looked like a machine gun emerging from the passenger side window.

"I saw the gun then I just heard gunshots. It was like a machine gun - it was not a single shot, it was a number of shots," she said.

The teenager, who was shot in the hand, said she fell to the floor but got up and started running.

She was eventually taken to hospital where she learnt the two girls had died.

Marcus Ellis, 24, Michael Gregory, 22, Nathan Martin, 25, Rodrigo Simms, 20, and Tafarwa Beckford, 22, all deny two counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

A sixth defendant, Jermaine Carty, 24, denies two counts of possessing a firearm on the night of the shooting.

The trial continues.