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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared remotely at the local court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with one count of damaging property.

In a statement at the moment of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and told the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the city leader stated that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

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

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.