diff --git a/src/main/pgpool_main.c b/src/main/pgpool_main.c
index 8bfcfbc..12eff29 100644
--- a/src/main/pgpool_main.c
+++ b/src/main/pgpool_main.c
@@ -960,6 +960,9 @@ create_unix_domain_socket(struct sockaddr_un un_addr_tmp)
 	int			status;
 	int			len;
 
+	/* Delete any pre-existing socket file to avoid failure at bind() time */
+	unlink(un_addr_tmp.sun_path);
+
 	fd = socket(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0);
 	if (fd == -1)
 	{