diff --git a/backend/drive/drive.go b/backend/drive/drive.go
index 4007d2056..f47f79d2a 100755
--- a/backend/drive/drive.go
+++ b/backend/drive/drive.go
@@ -551,6 +551,7 @@ type baseObject struct {
 	modifiedDate string // RFC3339 time it was last modified
 	mimeType     string // The object MIME type
 	bytes        int64  // size of the object
+	parents      int    // number of parents
 }
 type documentObject struct {
 	baseObject
@@ -1176,6 +1177,7 @@ func (f *Fs) newBaseObject(remote string, info *drive.File) baseObject {
 		modifiedDate: modifiedDate,
 		mimeType:     info.MimeType,
 		bytes:        size,
+		parents:      len(info.Parents),
 	}
 }
 
@@ -2989,6 +2991,9 @@ func (o *linkObject) Update(ctx context.Context, in io.Reader, src fs.ObjectInfo
 
 // Remove an object
 func (o *baseObject) Remove(ctx context.Context) error {
+	if o.parents > 1 {
+		return errors.New("can't delete safely - has multiple parents")
+	}
 	var err error
 	err = o.fs.pacer.Call(func() (bool, error) {
 		if o.fs.opt.UseTrash {