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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 affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in 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 said that CCTV footage captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told 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.

A day after the reported event, the local mayor said that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

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

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

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an ancient anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.