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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after allegedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared remotely at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the stickers were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

The mayor added the local government would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those responsible for the damage.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.