diff --git a/cogl/cogl/deprecated/cogl-auto-texture.c b/cogl/cogl/deprecated/cogl-auto-texture.c
index 29a5f73ef..fe52e1575 100644
--- a/cogl/cogl/deprecated/cogl-auto-texture.c
+++ b/cogl/cogl/deprecated/cogl-auto-texture.c
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@ cogl_texture_new_with_size (unsigned int width,
       if (!cogl_texture_allocate (tex, &skip_error))
         {
           cogl_error_free (skip_error);
+          skip_error = NULL;
           cogl_object_unref (tex);
           tex = NULL;
         }