diff --git a/src/ast/datatype_decl_plugin.cpp b/src/ast/datatype_decl_plugin.cpp
index dfeaef9f8..d3704a84a 100644
--- a/src/ast/datatype_decl_plugin.cpp
+++ b/src/ast/datatype_decl_plugin.cpp
@@ -390,7 +390,6 @@ namespace datatype {
                 TRACE("datatype", tout << "declaring " << datatypes[i]->name() << "\n";);
                 if (m_defs.find(datatypes[i]->name(), d)) {
                     TRACE("datatype", tout << "delete previous version for " << datatypes[i]->name() << "\n";);
-                    sort_ref_vector srts(*m_manager);
                     u().reset();
                     dealloc(d);
                 }