diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Delete.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Delete.java
index 40c4a086a..68e82efa7 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Delete.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Delete.java
@@ -270,6 +270,7 @@ public class Delete extends MatchingTask {
 
     protected void removeDir(File d) {
         String[] list = d.list();
+        if (list == null) list = new String[0];
         for (int i = 0; i < list.length; i++) {
             String s = list[i];
             File f = new File(d, s);