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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the local government would seek the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.