diff --git a/docs/reference/ImageDraw.rst b/docs/reference/ImageDraw.rst
index de26a4d85..6b686568d 100644
--- a/docs/reference/ImageDraw.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/ImageDraw.rst
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ Example: Draw a gray cross over an image
     draw = ImageDraw.Draw(im)
     draw.line((0, 0) + im.size, fill=128)
     draw.line((0, im.size[1], im.size[0], 0), fill=128)
-    del draw
 
     # write to stdout
     im.save(sys.stdout, "PNG")