"I was really busy and noted that they were wearing balaclavas, which you would think would be a dead giveaway as to their intentions," she told 3AW's Ross and John.

"I started talking into the camera and, while that was happening, one of them walked up to Jimmy, our cameraman, and started talking to him. All of a sudden Jimmy took the camera off the tripod and that's when I stepped in and said, 'Hey, what's going on here?'

"I tried to grab the camera and Jimmy said, 'No, no, he's got a gun!' So I let it go and they took off on the bike."

At this point, the live link to Sydney cut out – but Irving still managed to take a photo of the thieves as they cycled away.

While she did not see the weapon, she said it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I don't know how they're going to offload [the camera]," she said. "The cops said they got it on CCTV."

Irving, who was previously based in Melbourne, stepped into the role of Seven's Europe correspondent this year. She has been with the network for about 10 years.

Last month, she covered the royal wedding between Prince Harry and former actress Meghan Markle.

A Seven spokeswoman told Fairfax Media: "Both Laurel and Jimmy are safe and well."