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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

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

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and informed the court she was ill, according to media sources, with the judge advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor stated that restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

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

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

When the artwork was initially suggested, it received varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.