I wasn't talking about trees or shrubs outside of the bunker as they are irrelevant for this question. If the step in question is outside the vertical line they are not inside the bunker and free relief would be granted.
The first thing to note when your ball is in the sand is determining if your ball is considered in the bunker of not. According to Rule 12.1, your ball is considered in the bunker if “any part of it touches sand on the ground inside the edge of the bunker.” Your ball is also considered in the bunker if it’s inside the edge of the bunker and rests on the ground where sand would normally be, or “on a loose impediment, movable obstruction, abnormal course condition or integral object.”
A bunker is defined as a specially prepared area of sand. A lip or face at the edge of a prepared area consisting of soil, grass, stacked turf or artificial materials is not part of a bunker.
Rule 12-1 states that a ball is in the bunker when any part of the ball touches sand on the ground inside the edge of the bunker.
Clearly then the steps are outside the bunker. This will be the case if any part of the steps lies within the area of the bunker but above the sand.
But if the step where your ball is at rest is in the sand/bunker they would have a free drop but would have to have a free drop in the bunker.
