Police have commenced inquiries after a truck driver was threatened with an axe and detained during an armed robbery at Salamander Bay overnight.

The 31-year-old man, a delivery driver for a supermarket, was confronted by two men after parking his truck in the loading dock of a shopping centre on Town Centre Circuit about 4.30am today (Saturday 2 December 2017).

The men, who had their faces concealed, threatened him with an axe before detaining him and forcing him into the food court of the shopping centre.

They stole cash from a number of outlets and fled after ordering the driver to lie behind a counter.

Police were alerted and officers from Port Stephens Local Area Command attended and established a crime scene, which was forensically examined.

An investigation into the incident is underway and police are appealing for public assistance to identify and locate those involved.

The men were heavily concealed; however, they’ve been described as being aged in their late teens or early 20s, approximately 170 to 180cm tall and with athletic builds.

The driver wasn’t injured during the incident.