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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local 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 municipal authorities explained that surveillance video captured a person putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to find a legal representative before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

The mayor said the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

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

Priced at A$136,000 ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.