The terrifying ordeal that still haunts Rita Ora's sleep

Rita Ora still struggles to sleep at night after an intruder broke into her home in 2015.

The Your Song singer has bravely opened up for the first time about the terrifying ordeal, which saw £200,000 worth of her possessions stolen, and how she has increased her security to prevent any further break-ins.

Speaking to The Sun newspaper's Bizarre editor Dan Wootton for his Bizarre Life podcast, she said: "It still affects me, even today - going to sleep and things like that - because just knowing that there was a stranger in your home is never really a nice feeling.

However, the 26-year-old pop star says her sister Elena Ora, 28, has been left with the most fear as she was the one who actually saw the thief, Charaf Elmoudden - who has been jailed for five years - at the London home which they share.

She explained: "It was harder for my sister also because she had the actual face-to-face encounter with the robber so it was difficult to get over that and we did the court cases and things, which was really scary.

"It was awful and you're in a home that you've made yourself that you now know isn't safe, so I've definitely upped my security about 200 per cent."

One thing that has really helped the blonde beauty get through the terrifying incident is seeking help from a therapist.

She said: "It's helped me talking about it, to be honest - to kind of like get the scariness away from it."

The Body On Me hitmaker is gearing up to release her first album in five years, but says it was important for her to have some "me time" and take a break because of the pressures of being in the spotlight.

She said: "You're in a different country and different this and different that and it's normal for a girl to kind of lose control sometimes mentally when your life is moving so much and I talk about it openly because I know I'm not the only one that goes through it.

"It's like a girl stressing about her studies, it's like like it's a normal thing to happen to someone, which I didn't know was normal until recently, so yeah, you get your ups and downs - but the ups are great."

- Bang! Showbiz