diff --git a/libvips/iofuncs/util.c b/libvips/iofuncs/util.c
index 23c9cacf..da1d021e 100644
--- a/libvips/iofuncs/util.c
+++ b/libvips/iofuncs/util.c
@@ -1746,8 +1746,6 @@ vips_realpath( const char *path )
 }
 #else /*!HAVE_REALPATH*/
 {
-	char *real;
-
 	if( !g_path_is_absolute( path ) ) {
 		char *cwd;