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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

A day after the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the local government would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

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

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; £68,000), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.