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A teenager from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

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

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor stated that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be costly as the stickers could not be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the local government would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those responsible for the vandalism.

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

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.