Villagers in a small community have been enraged after a makeover of a Virgin Mary statue they have worshipped for over 200 years left it looking like a character from .

A botched renovation of the Blessed Mother and statue in Stuszionka, a village in Silesia, southern, turned the local icon into a characateur of its former self. The shrine, erected in 1820, was formerly "tall and slender" but now, the mother and son look like poor imitations of the original, with swollen faces, hands and goofy, toothless grins. residents of the 2,300-strong village have been left so shocked by the changes, undertaken by an unknown person, that local authorities have now pledged to give the shrine an official overhaul.

Locals have reacted with both fury and humour to the "renovation" of the shrine, which is on the official register of monuments - meaning it can only be worked on by conservators. The social media account that first shared pictures of the shock repainting joked it was painted in "the style of garden gnomes" with "the cheapest paint from a DIY store".

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The figure of Jesus appeared as if it were wearing grey underwear, while the Virgin Mother seems to be gazing listlessly into the sky with bulging eyes. Her mouth - which is painted without teeth - is also stretched into a red grin, adding to the strange shocked expression.

While the local Conservator of Monuments diplomatically said the renovation was "a rather rare depiction of the Virgin Mary" that was likely done with "good intentions", members of the public did not pull their punches. One gobsmacked social media user said the "times of the greatest barbarity and ignorance of Spirit and Reason have come".

Another joked that she looked more like a character from The Simpsons, saying: "It looks more like Bart Simpson than The Mother Mary." A second user commenting along the same lines joked: "Police are looking for Matt Groening." And another person joked: "Forgive them, Father, for they know not how to use a paintbrush."

The only clues about the perpetrator of the botched job are their initials, with the initials "J.Cz." printed on the shrine. Officials believe the work was not an act of vandalism, with Monika Bogdanowska, a former conservator of monuments in neighbouring province of Małopolska, saying she believed the "artist" had good intentions.

But she added they have "tarnished" the monument, which must now be painted over by a professional. Mirosław Rymer, a spokesperson for the Silesian Conservator of Monuments, told the Daily Mail local authorities will now "carry out an inspection to determine how much damage has been done to the monument".

The renovation has brought back memories about another famous botched restoration. The "Ecce Homo" in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy church in Borja, northern spain, was left looking similarly swollen in 2012 after 82-year-old Cecilia Giménez decided to attempt to restore the locally treasured fresco.

Her viral failure became known as the "Monkey Christ", and, despite being globally mocked, became a local tourist attraction, with even Ryanair getting in on the act.