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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of damaging property.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a person putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is unacceptable 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 society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would seek the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

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