A 25-year-old man was arrested last night in connection with the shooting of a police officer during an undercover operation in Wolverhampton.

The 33-year-old constable was shot twice in the shoulder at close range after he chased a man acting suspiciously at 10.30pm on Saturday night.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said the man was arrested late yesterday afternoon in the city and was being questioned.

The officer underwent surgery on his left shoulder and remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

He was on plain clothes duty in the Graiseley area of the city when he identified himself as a police officer to a man who had aroused suspicion in a car park of Bromford Rise flats in Oaklands Road. The offender ran off and the officer, with a colleague, gave chase for a few hundred yards to Penn Road where he was shot.

Assistant Chief Constable Anil Patani, from West Midlands Police, said an extensive investigation had been launched with forensic examinations and house-to-house inquiries. The scene was sealed off.

Mr Patani said the officer, who has not yet been named, was conscious and had his family at his bedside.

He had around seven years’ experience, he added.

Mr Patani said: "This demonstrates how incredibly brave our officers are.

"Sometimes we take for granted the extent we ask of police officers to keep the public safe. This officer took chase and then he found a gun pointing at him.

"We will bring the perpetrator to justice, not just because he shot a police officer, but because he is a danger to the public," he said.

Paul Tonks, West Midlands Police Federation chairman, last night said: "CID and plain clothes officers and detective inspectors are not at this moment issued with personal stab vests. The force are in the process of reviewing this. The view of the Police Federation is that if these officers are issued with protective vests, they should be worn."