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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

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

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.