LOS ANGELES, Dec 29 — Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is in hot water with Yellowstone Park authorities after straying off the beaten path in a geothermal area of the famed national wilderness.

The Irish heartthrob and on-screen superspy was strolling through the sprawling national park on November 1 when he was given a ticket for "foot travel in a thermal area,” the Los Angeles Times reported, saying it had seen a copy of the citation.

Visitors to the 3,500-square-mile (9,000-square kilometer) park are warned to stay on specially designated boardwalks and trails to avoid the danger of slipping through a thin crust of ground and into the scalding waters below.

But it seems the former Remington Steele series leading man was not playing by the rules, and fell afoul of a park ranger.

"Foot travel in all thermal areas and within the Yellowstone Canyon between the Upper Falls and Inspiration Point must be confined to boardwalks or trails that are maintained for such travel and are marked by official signs,” regulations say.

There was no immediate comment from Brosnan or his representatives.

Last year rangers found a bit of a human foot in one of the hot springs, where temperatures reach around 140 Fahrenheit (60 Celsius).

The body part was believed to have come from someone who slipped into the Abyss Pool a few months earlier.

In 2016 a young man died after coming off a boardwalk and falling into a hot spring at the Norris Geyser Basin.

Millions of people travel every year to Yellowstone, America’s first national park, which covers portions of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.

It is home to thousands of geothermal features — hot springs, mudpots, steam vents and about half the world’s active geysers, including Old Faithful.

The park was the inspiration for Jellystone Park, the home of beloved cartoon favourite Yogi Bear — an affable but permanently hungry character whose chief preoccupation was stealing picnic baskets and outwitting a park ranger. — AFP