Police and Government officials in the US city of Savannah, Georgia, are on the lookout for a criminal known in some circles as ‘the googly eye bandit’.

The news comes after an unknown man or woman glued a pair of googly eyes onto a historic relief sculpture of a Revolutionary War general located in the city’s famous Johnson Square.

In a frustrated post on Facebook, a local Government organisation wrote: “Who did this?! Someone placed googly eyes on our historic Nathanael Greene statue in Johnson Square.”

They added: “It may look funny but harming our historic monuments and public property is no laughing matter, in fact, it’s a crime.”

The post, which has been shared more than 23,000 times across social media, has attracted a wide and diverse range of reactions from members of the public.

One social media user simply said: “Maybe you could entertain the revolutionary idea of simply removing them? It’s really not that difficult.”

In response to some of the sarcastic comments received, Police spokesperson Bianca Johnson has reiterated that the matter is being treated very seriously.

The famous statue is located behind a fence, meaning that the person responsible is at risk of being prosecuted for trespassing if he or she is caught.