diff --git a/mapfile.c b/mapfile.c
index ade19dd4a7..e02cc3efda 100755
--- a/mapfile.c
+++ b/mapfile.c
@@ -4071,7 +4071,7 @@ int loadLayer(layerObj *layer, mapObj *map)
         LayerCompositer *compositer = msSmallMalloc(sizeof(LayerCompositer));
         initLayerCompositer(compositer);
         if(MS_FAILURE == loadLayerCompositer(compositer)) {
-          msFree(compositer);
+          freeLayerCompositer(compositer);
           return -1;
           }
         if(!layer->compositer) {