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

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and told the court she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor added the council would seek the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the damage.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.