diff --git a/http.c b/http.c
index 98f9707625dd1e28dc3206f76ab27b231c1425a9..14d535747d943c2db3d45d82439f3ee9633ed2d9 100644
--- a/http.c
+++ b/http.c
@@ -1187,7 +1187,11 @@ struct http_object_request *new_http_object_request(const char *base_url,
 		if (prev_posn>0) {
 			prev_posn = 0;
 			lseek(freq->localfile, 0, SEEK_SET);
-			ftruncate(freq->localfile, 0);
+			if (ftruncate(freq->localfile, 0) < 0) {
+				error("Couldn't truncate temporary file %s for %s: %s",
+					  freq->tmpfile, freq->filename, strerror(errno));
+				goto abort;
+			}
 		}
 	}