A dashboard camera has captured the dramatic moment two armed thieves fled an Asian grocery shop in Sydney's west, shortly before the shop's owner began chasing them.
One of the men is shown running with a large machete, while the second thief - also armed with a machete - has his face concealed and is carrying bags of cash as they make their escape across the car park outside the Sengtavanh Asian Grocery in Bonnyrigg.
Police said the owner of the Brown Road grocery shop was taking delivery of stock at the back of the shop on Monday last week when the men entered through the front door just before 1pm.
The thieves confronted a young female staff member who was standing behind the counter. The woman ran out the shop's back door to safety and alerted her employer, police said.
One of the men walked behind the counter and grabbed two green shopping bags containing cash, while the second man kept watch at the front door.
Both men then ran from the grocery shop with the bags and were chased for a short distance by the owner.
The woman who was behind the counter told Fairfax Media that she saw the two men and their weapons and immediately ran away.
"I saw one man put a balaclava on and he came to rob me, and I ran away before he reached me," she said, adding the machete was "very long".
"It was scary and terrifying," she said.
"I just ran really fast. I didn't care about the money."
The woman, who did not want to be named, said the men did not even attempt to open the cash register but knew to grab the two green bags containing cash. They escaped with "quite a lot" of money, she said.
The thieves were last seen heading across Brown Road and up an alley that leads to Beltana Avenue.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Robbery Unit have released footage from a camera that was mounted on the dashboard of a vehicle parked in the grocery shop's carpark.
One of the thieves was shown wearing a black hooded jumper, black pants and black and white sneakers. He was carrying two green bags and a machete.
The second man was wearing blue shorts, a black or grey hooded jacket, and black and white sneakers. He also was carrying a machete.
Anyone with information about the robbery or the identity of the thieves has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit the Crime Stoppers online reporting page.
