diff --git a/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/impl/client/BasicResponseHandler.java b/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/impl/client/BasicResponseHandler.java
index 5ad5427b0..54df962db 100644
--- a/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/impl/client/BasicResponseHandler.java
+++ b/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/impl/client/BasicResponseHandler.java
@@ -42,13 +42,12 @@ import org.apache.http.util.EntityUtils;
  * A {@link ResponseHandler} that returns the response body as a String
  * for successful (2xx) responses. If the response code was >= 300, the response
  * body is consumed and an {@link HttpResponseException} is thrown.
- *
+ * <p/>
  * If this is used with
  * {@link org.apache.http.client.HttpClient#execute(
  *  org.apache.http.client.methods.HttpUriRequest, ResponseHandler)},
  * HttpClient may handle redirects (3xx responses) internally.
  *
- *
  * @since 4.0
  */
 @Immutable
@@ -63,12 +62,12 @@ public class BasicResponseHandler implements ResponseHandler<String> {
     public String handleResponse(final HttpResponse response)
             throws HttpResponseException, IOException {
         StatusLine statusLine = response.getStatusLine();
+        HttpEntity entity = response.getEntity();
         if (statusLine.getStatusCode() >= 300) {
+            EntityUtils.consume(entity);
             throw new HttpResponseException(statusLine.getStatusCode(),
                     statusLine.getReasonPhrase());
         }
-
-        HttpEntity entity = response.getEntity();
         return entity == null ? null : EntityUtils.toString(entity);
     }
 
diff --git a/httpclient/src/test/java/org/apache/http/impl/client/TestBasicResponseHandler.java b/httpclient/src/test/java/org/apache/http/impl/client/TestBasicResponseHandler.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4518a817b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/httpclient/src/test/java/org/apache/http/impl/client/TestBasicResponseHandler.java
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+/*
+ * ====================================================================
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ * ====================================================================
+ *
+ * This software consists of voluntary contributions made by many
+ * individuals on behalf of the Apache Software Foundation.  For more
+ * information on the Apache Software Foundation, please see
+ * <http://www.apache.org/>.
+ *
+ */
+
+package org.apache.http.impl.client;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+
+import junit.framework.Assert;
+
+import org.apache.http.HttpEntity;
+import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
+import org.apache.http.HttpVersion;
+import org.apache.http.StatusLine;
+import org.apache.http.client.HttpResponseException;
+import org.apache.http.entity.StringEntity;
+import org.apache.http.message.BasicStatusLine;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.mockito.Mockito;
+
+/**
+ * Unit tests for {@link BasicResponseHandler}.
+ */
+public class TestBasicResponseHandler {
+
+    @Test
+    public void testSuccessfulResponse() throws Exception {
+        StatusLine sl = new BasicStatusLine(HttpVersion.HTTP_1_1, 200, "OK");
+        HttpResponse response = Mockito.mock(HttpResponse.class);
+        HttpEntity entity = StringEntity.create("stuff");
+        Mockito.when(response.getStatusLine()).thenReturn(sl);
+        Mockito.when(response.getEntity()).thenReturn(entity);
+
+        BasicResponseHandler handler = new BasicResponseHandler();
+        String s = handler.handleResponse(response);
+        Assert.assertEquals("stuff", s);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void testUnsuccessfulResponse() throws Exception {
+        InputStream instream = Mockito.mock(InputStream.class);
+        HttpEntity entity = Mockito.mock(HttpEntity.class);
+        Mockito.when(entity.isStreaming()).thenReturn(true);
+        Mockito.when(entity.getContent()).thenReturn(instream);
+        StatusLine sl = new BasicStatusLine(HttpVersion.HTTP_1_1, 404, "Not Found");
+        HttpResponse response = Mockito.mock(HttpResponse.class);
+        Mockito.when(response.getStatusLine()).thenReturn(sl);
+        Mockito.when(response.getEntity()).thenReturn(entity);
+
+        BasicResponseHandler handler = new BasicResponseHandler();
+        try {
+            handler.handleResponse(response);
+            Assert.fail("HttpResponseException expected");
+        } catch (HttpResponseException ex) {
+            Assert.assertEquals(404, ex.getStatusCode());
+            Assert.assertEquals("Not Found", ex.getMessage());
+        }
+        Mockito.verify(entity).getContent();
+        Mockito.verify(instream).close();
+    }
+
+}