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A teenager from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

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

When the artwork was first proposed, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.