Police are appealing for public assistance as they investigate an attempted armed robbery of a newsagency in Wollongong this afternoon.

About 12.50pm (Tuesday 27 December 2016), a 60-year-old woman was working at a newsagency on Bellevue Road when an unknown man entered the store and produced what appeared to be a firearm.

Police have been told the man demanded money, when the woman yelled for help and the man ran from the store empty handed.

The man may have entered a maroon-coloured vehicle parked nearby, with a second person driving it from the scene.

The woman, uninjured, contacted police and officers from Wollongong Local Area Command attended and established a crime scene.

As inquiries into the incident continue, police would like to speak to a man who may be able to assist them.

He is described as being of thin build, about 170cm tall, with a tattoo on the left side of his neck. The man was seen wearing a black cap, a long-sleeved grey top, and black tracksuit pants.