Kiwi man stabs French man with axe in Sydney

New Zealand man Irving Stevens was arrested and charged by Australian police after a stabbing in Sydney. PHOTO/Michael Craig

A Kiwi man in Australia has allegedly stabbed a French tourist with an axe.

"Chilling footage" captured the man casually strolling through a Sydney car park armed with the weapon, moments before a French tourist was said to have been attacked in a suspected robbery-gone-wrong, 7News reported.

New Zealand man Irving Stevens, 34, was arrested and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and malicious damage. He was a short distance away from where the attack occurred.

Witnesses said the 32-year-old victim, known as "Frenchy", ran to a nearby business around 10am on Tuesday.

"I saw a guy running up the Pacific Highway holding his chest screaming 'I've been stabbed, I've been stabbed'," witness Ian Jobsz said.

"He said 'I've been stabbed, he smashed my car with a tomahawk or an axe and he stabbed me."

The French man crossed a busy highway and sought help at a car dealership where workers tried to stem the bleeding before paramedics arrived.

"He was just yelling out all sorts of things, he was quite erratic," witness Ian Wood said.

"I mean, he's just got stabbed."

The victim was taken to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital in a serious but stable condition. He had suffered stab wounds to the chest.

It's alleged Stevens had also used an axe to damage windows at a Pacific Highway business.

Stevens was refused bail and is set to appear in the Parramatta Local Court on January 4.

Detectives are now working to establish if the men worked together, and what started the altercation.

New Zealand Police said they would not be notified about the incident unless local authorities were already looking for him of if he gets deported.