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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that CCTV footage captured a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the alleged incident, the city leader stated that restoration to the popular community sculpture would be expensive as the stickers could not be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She said the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

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

Priced at A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.