Britney Spears 'grateful' her niece is improving after ATV crash

Britney Spears is "grateful" her niece Maddie is "making progress" following her recent ATV accident.

Maddie, the eight-year-old daughter of Britney's sister Jamie Lynn, almost drowned on Sunday (05Feb17) when she swerved the off-road vehicle she was driving to avoid a drainage ditch, and ended up submerged in a pond on the family's estate in Kentwood, Louisiana.

She was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she was in a stable but critical condition. She regained consciousness on Tuesday (07Feb17) and is continually improving, according to Jamie Lynn's husband Jamie Watson.

Britney, who had previously asked fans for their prayers on social media, returned to Instagram on late Wednesday (08Feb17) to thank her fans for their support and to give an update on Maddie's condition.

“We are so grateful to share that Maddie is making progress,” she wrote. “Thank you all for sending thoughts and prayers our way. Let’s all keep praying.”

Watson recently told his Instagram followers Maddie is doing "better and better", with a representative from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Department also releasing a statement about Maddie's health.

"With her father, mother and stepfather by her side, Maddie regained consciousness mid-day Tuesday, February 7," it read. "She is aware of her surroundings and recognizes those family members who have kept a round-the-clock vigil since the accident... It appears that she has not suffered any neurological consequences from the accident."

Doctors have reportedly removed a ventilator that was helping to keep Maddie alive, but she is still being monitored closely.

Maddie is Jamie Lynn's daughter from her on-off relationship with then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge, who she eventually split from in 2010. She married Watson in 2014.