Female Arby's manager Mary Archer gets FIRED after she runs away from knife-wielding robber

An Arby's restaurant assistant manager has been fired less than 24 hours after being threatened by an armed robber because she was alone on duty.

Mary Archer, who worked at the restaurant chain in East Dayton, Ohio, had to climb through a drive-thru window to escape the robber, who rang the doorbell armed with a knife just as she was closing up for the night.

The 56-year-old said she was coered in the fast food chain's office by the man, who repeatedly shouted 'give me the money'.

Fearing for her life, she made her escape - only to be fired the next day for being alone in the restaurant at the time.

Late night attack: The Arby's fast food restaurant in East Dayton was attacked on Friday night

The attempted robbery happened in the early hours of Saturday moing as Archer closed up following a busy night.

Her co-worker had just left at about 12.45am when, a few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Ms Archer, who has worked at Arby's for 23 years, said her first thoughts were that her co-worker had left her belongings behind - but instead the man burst in demanding money.

She told News Center 7 how she was coered in the office, before shoving the man backwards and escaping through the window, where she screamed for help.

She said: “He held up a knife and kept saying "give me the money".

'I had pushed him away…because I’m like, ‘I’m not going to die in Arby’s tonight…I’m just not.'

A customer at a nearby shop heard her calls for help and called the police.

Vulnerable: Archer said the fast food chain has been targeted three times in the last six months

But although the thief fled empty-handed, the event ended up costing Archer her job.

The following day she was told she had broken Arby's safety and security policy by being alone in the fast food business when it was robbed.

For this, she was fired less than 24 hours after the armed robbery - which Archer said was the third attempted robbery within six months.

The thief was described as about 5-foot-10, 150 pounds and wore a dark colored hoodie, dark pants and a dark wool stocking cap.

Arby's told New Center 7 that violations of its safety and security policy mean termination of employment without exception.

A vice-president of Arby’s Human Resources told WHIO TV that 'he feels bad that Ms. Archer had to go through this' - but that she knowingly violated the company’s safety and security policy, and had been waed before.

Ms Archer added: 'I don’t want my job back.'