Police are appealing for public assistance following the armed robbery of a bottle shop in Sydney’s east overnight.

About 9.30pm (Saturday 12 May 2012), a man entered the premises on Doncaster Avenue, Kensington, with his face concealed and carrying a large cardboard box.

The man threatened a 22-year-old male employee with a knife and demanded he hand over money from the register.

Police have been told the man then attempted to remove expensive bottles of wine from behind the counter before he was interrupted by a female employee.

After seeing the robbery in progress, the 21-year-old woman ran from the shop and raised the alarm.

The armed man fled with a sum of cash and was last seen running along Doncaster Avenue.

Officers attached to Eastern Beaches Local Area Command attended and established a crime scene which was examined by specialist officers.

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident, or any suspicious activity in the vicinity of Doncaster Avenue around this time, to come forward.

The man is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his late 30s to early 40s, approximately 178cm tall and of medium build.

He was wearing a navy-blue hooded jumper with a white emblem on the front, a light blue t-shirt, jeans and white sneakers.