diff --git a/vlib/compiler/parser.v b/vlib/compiler/parser.v
index 46cfba9aa6..f61abe6174 100644
--- a/vlib/compiler/parser.v
+++ b/vlib/compiler/parser.v
@@ -1482,9 +1482,8 @@ fn (p mut Parser) get_var_type(name string, is_ptr bool, is_deref bool) string {
 	// *var
 	if is_deref {
 		if !p.inside_unsafe {
-			p.warn('dereferencing can only be done inside an `unsafe` block')
+			p.error('dereferencing can only be done inside an `unsafe` block')
 		}	
-		
 		if !typ.contains('*') && !typ.ends_with('ptr') {
 			println('name="$name", t=$v.typ')
 			p.error('dereferencing requires a pointer, but got `$typ`')