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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the judge 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 local mayor stated that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

The mayor said the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the damage.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.