diff --git a/src/msw/menuitem.cpp b/src/msw/menuitem.cpp
index 1704892306..65ffdb6a16 100644
--- a/src/msw/menuitem.cpp
+++ b/src/msw/menuitem.cpp
@@ -780,8 +780,11 @@ void wxMenuItem::DoSetBitmap(const wxBitmap& bmp, bool bChecked)
             {
                 wxCHECK_RET( item == this, wxS("Non unique menu item ID?") );
 
-                m_parentMenu->Remove(this);
-                m_parentMenu->Insert(pos, this);
+                // Use a copied value of m_parentMenu because it is
+                // nullified by Remove.
+                wxMenu *menu = m_parentMenu;
+                menu->Remove(this);
+                menu->Insert(pos, this);
             }
             //else: the item hasn't been inserted into the parent menu yet
         }
diff --git a/tests/menu/menu.cpp b/tests/menu/menu.cpp
index 0ae436f27f..efc2f0a170 100644
--- a/tests/menu/menu.cpp
+++ b/tests/menu/menu.cpp
@@ -420,6 +420,12 @@ void MenuTestCase::ChangeBitmap()
     // again etc...
     item->SetBitmap( wxBitmap(1, 1) );
 
+
+    // Force owner drawn usage by having a bitmap that's wider than the
+    // standard size. This results in rearranging the parent menu which
+    // hasn't always worked properly and lead to a null pointer exception.
+    item->SetBitmap( wxBitmap(512, 1) );
+
     wxDELETE(menu);
 }