Rachael Brown in an undated photo released by the Nottinghamshire Police. REUTERS/Nottinghamshire Police/Handout

LONDON (Reuters) - The 23-year-old policewoman shot as she investigated reports of a burglary in Nottingham, has spoken to her parents and her condition is improving, police said on Wednesday.

Probationary officer Rachael Bown is still seriously ill in hospital after being shot in the lower abdomen below her body armour in the early hours of Monday as she and an experienced male colleague attempted to apprehend a suspect.

"Rachael is showing some improvement and is in a stable condition," a Nottinghamshire police spokesman said.

Bown, who had emergency surgery following the shooting, had regained consciousness and had also spoken to her parents.

"Whilst she is clearly still in a serious condition, she is young and strong and the signs are very encouraging," the spokesman added.

No one has yet been arrested in connection with the shooting in the Lenton area of Nottingham and police say it is not clear whether the gunman was connected to the burglary.

The incident, which comes just over two months after WPC Sharon Beshenivsky was shot dead after she was called to an armed robbery in Bradford, had provoked outrage across the country and prompted many messages of support.

"Many of the e-mails and phone calls express shock and dismay, and all convey heartfelt wishes for Rachael's speedy recovery," the police spokesman said.

The hospital where Bown, who is coming to the end of her two-year probation period, is being treated had also been inundated with flowers.

"We are very touched by these messages which have reminded us just how much ordinary people really do care when police officers are attacked in this way," the spokesman said.

"It's very moving that people feel so strongly about this."

Nottingham has seen a spate of gun crime in recent years, blamed mainly on drugs, and police have said they were aware there was a climate of fear in some parts of the city.

It was the focus of a major anti-gun campaign after an innocent 14-year-old girl, Danielle Beccan, was gunned down in an apparently motiveless attack as she walked home from Nottingham's annual Goose Fair in October 2004.

Chief Superintendent Marcus Beale said police had taken action to tackle gun crime in Nottingham and that the number of firearms victims had fallen from about 70 in 2003 to 11 last year.

He added his officers were better equipped and trained now than they had been some years ago.

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