diff --git a/gst/gstcaps.c b/gst/gstcaps.c
index 4525ead1fc..51f7ae4e04 100644
--- a/gst/gstcaps.c
+++ b/gst/gstcaps.c
@@ -901,8 +901,10 @@ gst_caps_set_features (GstCaps * caps, guint index, GstCapsFeatures * features)
   if (features)
     gst_caps_features_set_parent_refcount (features, &GST_CAPS_REFCOUNT (caps));
 
-  if (old)
+  if (old) {
+    gst_caps_features_set_parent_refcount (old, NULL);
     gst_caps_features_free (old);
+  }
 }
 
 /**