diff --git a/contrib/hooks/post-receive-email b/contrib/hooks/post-receive-email
index f99ea95850..21989fc6ab 100755
--- a/contrib/hooks/post-receive-email
+++ b/contrib/hooks/post-receive-email
@@ -709,7 +709,7 @@ if [ -z "$GIT_DIR" ]; then
 	exit 1
 fi
 
-projectdesc=$(sed -ne '1p' "$GIT_DIR/description")
+projectdesc=$(sed -ne '1p' "$GIT_DIR/description" 2>/dev/null)
 # Check if the description is unchanged from it's default, and shorten it to
 # a more manageable length if it is
 if expr "$projectdesc" : "Unnamed repository.*$" >/dev/null