A WEST Devon mum swam 300 lengths of Parklands Swimming Pool in Okehampton last week, raising more than £700 for new books for her children?s school. Mary-Anne Hamer, 47, was in the pool at ten minutes to seven in the morning to start the tiring sponsored challenge. She had some unorthodox help from partner Steve Creamer who was encouraging her poolside. ?I lied to her,? he said. ?She lost count of the number of lengths she had done, so I subtracted 50 and that way when she got to what she thought was 250, I was able to tell her she could stop because she had actually done 300.? Mary-Anne said: ?I was feeling fine. I felt like I could have gone on, but I?ve never swum this far before, so I thought I should stop because I wasn?t sure how my body might react.? The sponsored swim was in aid of Boasley Cross Primary School, where Mary-Anne has two children enrolled. Mary-Anne said with help from Steve, she had collected sponsorship pledges from family and friends. A large part of the money raised is likely to go towards purchasing new books for the school?s library. Mary-Anne said she swims most days, and her children seemed proud of what their mum had achieved.