A tourist who was allegedly robbed of her handbag and threatened with a knife while vacationing in Bermuda yesterday told a court she was "severely traumatised" by the ordeal.

Canadian national Charlotte Elizabeth Gowdy, of Toronto, Ontario, fought back tears while testifying in the Magistrates' Court trial of Darren Oneal Anglin and Devonne Adrian Hodgson.

Anglin, 23, of Alexandra Road, in Devonshire, is solely charged with possessing a bladed article in a public place and an increased penalty zone, namely Church Bay, in Southampton, on May 16.

Both he and Hodgson, 23, of Sun Valley, in Warwick, are charged with robbing Ms Gowdy of a handbag containing clothing, credit cards, birth certificate and wallet with $80 cash.

Hodgson earlier admitted to two traffic offences including driving a cycle at a speed dangerous to the public and failing to stop when signalled by a Police officer on May 16, when he first appeared in Plea Court.

Yesterday the court heard that Ms Gowdy was on vacation between May 14 and May 19 and staying with a friend, Aimee Lyons, in Southampton.

One afternoon around 2.30 p.m. the friends, along with Tzruya Chebach, from Israel, went to Church Bay for swimming and a picnic and about an hour later were approached by a "tall, black man in dark coloured clothes" who grabbed Ms Gowdy's bag and took off with it.

She told the court: "I yelled 'stop thief' very loudly. I continued to yell as I ran towards the stairs. I yelled 'thief' several times, 'help that's my bag, I need my bag, please stop, please sir'."

Ms Gowdy went running after the man, who was wearing a helmet with a visor covering his face, and saw him stash her bag in the foot area of the bike as he prepared to get away.

She grabbed at the bag from about one metre away and managed to pull out a summer dress hanging out the side but that was all, the court heard.

"I was still pleading with him, 'please sir'... at which point he said something to me. He said 'Get back or I will stab you'.

"I looked up and saw that he was brandishing a knife above his head," she said. "He was beside his bike at the time, which was approximately a metre or two from where I was then standing."

Ms Gowdy described the knife as thin and silver with a blade of around seven to eight inches long and told the court she was paralysed with fear when she saw it.

"I was shocked, frozen. I may have taken a step or two back but my body felt paralysed and I was very afraid. The man got on his bike and drove straight towards me.

"I recoiled, he came very close but no, he did not (hit me). He came within a foot of me. I felt severely traumatised."

Three other witnesses took the stand before Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo yesterday, including friend Ms Lyons and Police Constable Roger Tyrone Fox and Colin Paynter Jr. of the Road Policing Unit.

The trial continues next month with both Hodgson and Anglin released on $3,000 bail.